Ttdm0^tki  T 


Schaiiflter 


FlilSt"-  SYAMBARD    C  CORSE 


*     JUL  15  190  J 


TRAINING  THE  TEACHER 


BY 

A.  F.  Schauffler,  D.D. 

Antoinette  Abernethy  "^  Lamoreaux,  B.L. 

Martin  G.  Brumbaugh,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Marion  Lawrance 


Supplementary  chapters  by 

Charles  A.  Oliver 

Ira  Maurice  Price,  Ph.D. 


Approved  as  a  First  Standard  Course  by  the 

Committee  on  Education, 

International  Sunday  School  Association 


philadelphia 
The  Sunday  School  Times  Company 


L  S'dV^? 


Copyright,  1908, 

By  The  Sunday  School  Times  Company 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London,  1908 

All  Rights  Reserved 


CONTENTS 

Organizing  and  Conducting  a  Teacher-Training 

Class 5 

Charles  A.  Oliver 

1.  The  Book u 

A.  F.  Schauffler,  D.D. 

How  the  Bible  Came  to  Us 123 

Ira  Maurice  Price,  Ph.D. 

The  Gist  of  the  Books 129 

Compiled 

2.  The  Pupil 139 

Antoinette  Abernethy  Lamoreaux,  B.  L. 

3.  The  Teacher 181 

Martin  G.  Brumbaugh,  Ph.  D.  ,  LL.  D. 

4.  The  School 217 

Marion  Lawrance 
Appendix 

Teaching  Hints 257 

Paul's  Journeys 264 

Exodus  and  Wanderings,   Map 268 

The  Twelve  Tribes,  Map 269 

Assyria  and  Canaan,  Map 269 

iii 


1 


Organizing  and  Conducting  the  Teacher-training  Class 

CHARLES  A.  OLIVER 

Teacher-Training  Superintendent    Pennsylvania 

State  Sabbath  School  Association. 

Teacher-training  Needed. — No  more  serious  problem  faces 
the  Sunday-school  to-day  than  the  question  of  securing  more 
teachers  and  better  teaching.  We  owe  it  to  those  who  are  called 
to  teach  the  Word  to  see  that  means  of  thorough  preparation 
be  brought  within  their  reach.  The  best  teachers  will  welcome 
a  better  training  for  Christ's  service  and  many  good  people  who 
have  not  found  their  place  in  the  work  of  the  church  will  gladly 
engage  in  Sunday-school  teaching  after  they  have  been  specially 
instructed  in  the  Bible  and  in  the  principles  of  teaching. 

This  book  provides  the  essential  elements  for  the  teacher- 
training  course  in  four  sections:  (i)  The  Bible  material  which 
is  the  basis  for  all  Sunday-school  instruction,  under  the  title  of 
"The  Book,"  by  Dr.  Schauffler.  (2)  A  study  of  the  working  of 
the  mind  at  various  ages  and  under  differing  conditions  (a  brief 
study  of  psychology),  under  the  title  of  "The  Pupil,"  by  Mrs. 
Lamoreaux.  (3)  A  study  of  teaching  principles  and  the  appli- 
cation of  these  principles  (a  brief  study  of  pedagogy),  under  the 
title  of  "The  Teacher,"  by  Dr.  Brumbaugh.  (4)  A  study  of  the 
place  in  which  this  instruction  should  be  given,  that  is,  "The 
School,' '  by  Mr.  Lawrance.  Additional  material  for  instruction 
will  be  found  in  the  chapter  "How  the  Bible  came  to  Us"  by 
Professor  Ira  Maurice  Price,  and  "The  Gist  of  the  Books." 

Starting  a  Class. — (i)  No  better  beginning  can  be  made  than 
a  prayerful  conference  between  the  pastor  and  the  Sunday- 
school  superintendent  to  determine  the  need  and  possibilities 
of  teacher-training  within  the  local  school.  (2)  The  nearest 
representative  of  organized  Sunday-school  work  in  your  county 
or  State  will  gladly  furnish  you  with  printed  matter  pointing 

5 


6  The  Teacher-training  Class 

out  the  teacher-training  plans  in  successful  use  in  your  denomi- 
nation. (3)  Select  your  text-book  and  familiarize  yourself 
with  it.  (4)  Call  the  teachers  and  officers  together.  Have  a 
half-hour  social  feature,  to  be  followed  with  an  earnest  address 
on  the  need  and  the  plan  of  teacher-training.  Teach  a  sample 
lesson  from  the  text-book.  Endeavor  in  that  meeting  to  secure 
at  least  a  few  persons  who  will  agree  to  enter  a  class  and  will 
promise  to  do  personal  work  to  secure  other  members.  But  do 
not  make  the  mistake  of  requii  ing  a  large  class  before  beginning. 
A  leader  and  two  or  more  students  will  constitute  a  class. 

Who  Should  Enter  the  Class? — Two  general  plans  are  now  in 
operation.  One  provides  for  a  training  class  for  present  teachers. 
This  class  should  meet  at  a  convenient  time  during  the  week  to 
follow  the  course  in  a  teach sr-training  text-book.  A  whole 
evening  could  profitably  be  given  to  class  work.  If  this  is  not 
feasible  the  class  may  meet  for  study  at  the  time  of  the  weekly 
teachers'-meeting  or  before  or  after  the  mid-week  prayer  service. 

A  second  plan  provides  for  the  training  of  prospective  teachers, 
and  this  may  be  done  in  a  class  meeting  at  the  time  of  the  regular 
school  session.  These  should  be  found  in  the  senior  and  adult 
departments  of  the  school  and  should  be  sixteen  years  of  age  or 
older.  The  most  promising  young  people  in  the  school  should 
be  sought  for  membership  in  this  class.  If  possible,  a  separate 
room  should  be  provided  so  that  the  time  of  the  closing  exercises 
of  the  school  could  be  added  to  the  lesson  period  of  the  class. 
This  will  enable  the  class  to  devote  ten  minutes  to  a  brief  study 
of  the  spiritual  teachings  of  the  general  Bible  lesson  for  the  day 
and  yet  leave  a  half-hour  or  more  for  the  training  lesson. 

It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  if  a  class  for  present  teachers 
is  established,  the  officers  of  the  school  will  find  the  course 
invaluable  and  parents  will  secure  very  helpful  instruction  in 
the  care  and  nurture  of  young  children. 

Making  the  Class  a  Succesr. — It  is  possible  for  one  student  to 
follow  a  teacher-training  course  alone,  but  it  is  very  desirable 
for  two  or  more  to  join  and  take  the  course  in  class.  Several 
persons  meeting  for  conference  will  bring  better  results  than  the 
same  persons  studying  individually.  The  class  should  have  a 
leader  who  is  a  sympathetic,  patient,  tactful    Christian  man  or 


The  Teacher-training  Class  7 

woman,  who  will  inspire  the  members  to  continue  in  their  work, 
and  who  will  see  that  every  session  of  the  class  is  a  conference 
and  not  a  lecture.  Indifferent  work  should  be  discouraged. 
The  members  of  the  class  are  more  likely  to  continue  to  the  end 
of  the  course  if  they  have  the  consciousness  of  mastering  the 
work.  The  question  and  answer  method  should  be  emphasized, 
and  the  entire  period  of  the  class  should  be  given  at  frequent 
intervals  to  reviews.  Illuminating  essays  and  talks  may  be 
brought  into  the  class,  but  these  should  be  brief,  and  should  deal 
in  a  simple  way  with  side-lights  on  the  lesson  assigned  for  that 
period. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  the  class  should  be  enrolled  with  the 
denominational  teacher-training  department  and  with  the  State 
Sunday  School  Association.  This  enrolment  will  furnish  the 
officers  of  these  organizations  with  information  which  will  enable 
them  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  class  and  to  send  from  time  to 
time  helpful  and  inspirational  suggestions.  The  enrolment  of 
the  class  will  also  cause  the  members  to  feel  the  importance  of 
the  course  and  will  strengthen  the  sense  of  obligation  to  do 
thorough  work. 

The  official  examinations  are  of  the  greatest  importance,  and 
should  be  taken  by  every  member  of  the  class.  These  examina- 
tion tests  intensify  interest,  and  help  to  hold  the  class  together 
until  the  end  of  the  course. 

Great  encouragement  will  be  given  to  the  members  of  the  class 
if  public  recognition  is  made  of  their  work  from  time  to  time. 
Brief  words  spoken  in  public  commending  the  work  which  is 
being  done  will  often  tide  some  faltering  member  over  the  crisis 
of  hesitation.  The  denominational  Sunday-school  leaders  and 
officers  of  organized  Sunday-school  work  frequently  may  be 
called  upon  to  lend  encouragement  by  their  helpful  presence  at 
some  public  function  of  the  class. 

The  diploma  issued  by  the  denominations  or  by  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Association  is  a  fitting  recognition  of 
work  done,  and  gives  the  student  a  place  in  the  enlarging  fellow- 
ship of  trained  teachers.  Alumni  Associations  are  being  formed 
in  the  States  with  annual  reunions.  Graduating  exercises  should 
be  provided,  and  these  should  be  impressive  and  dignified  services 


8  The  Teacher-training  Class 

that  will  show  to  the  church  and  community  the  emphasis  the 
Sunday-school  is  placing  on  high  grade  work. 

The  Sunday  School  Times  Company  does  not  offer  any  cer- 
tificates or  diplomas,  nor  does  it  conduct  any  teacher-training 
classes.  All  this  is  carried  on  by  the  denominations,  or  through 
the  agency  of  the  State  Sunday  School  Associations. 


THE  BOOK 

A.  F.  SCHAUFFLER,  D.D. 

Page 

The  Bible n 

Lesson  (Old  Testament) 

1.  The  Old  Testament  Division i^ 

2.  From  Creation  to  Abraham lo 

3.  From  Abraham  to  Jacob 23 

4.  Joseph 28 

5.  Moses 03 

6.  Joshua  to  Samson ^9 

7.  Saul  to  Solomon  . ^ 

8.  Rehoboam  to  Hoshea ^g 

9.  Abijam  to  Zedekiah rj. 

10.  Elijah ^g 

11.  Return  from  Captivity 64 


(New  Testament) 

1.  New  Testament  Division  .    .    .   •    '    * 71 

2.  The  Life  of  Jesus — Thirty  Years  of  Preparation 76 

3.  The  Year  of  Obscurity 82 

4.  The  Year  of  Popularity 88 

5.  The  Year  of  Opposition g^ 

6.  The  Closing  Week 100 

7.  The  Forty  Days xo6 

8.  The  Early  Church no 

9.  The  Life  of  Paul 116 


How  the  Bible  Came  to  Us      123 

Ira  Maurice  Price,  Ph.D. 

The  Gist  of  the  Books 129 

Compiled 


Teaching  Hints 

Leaders  of  classes,  and  individuals 
pursuing  these  studies  apart  from 
classes,  are  urged  to  read  the  chap- 
ter entitled  "Teaching  Hints,"  on 
page  257,  before  beginning  this  section 


Introduction.    The  Bible 

1.  Methods  of  Bible  Study. — Microscopic  study  of  the  Bible 
is  the  study  of  smaller  portions,  such  as  single  verses,  or  parts 
of  chapters.  Many  sermons  adopt  this  method.  It  is  good  for 
many  purposes.  But  it  fails  to  give  the  larger  views  of  Bible 
history  that  the  teacher  needs  for  effective  work.  The  telescopic 
method  takes  in  large  sections  of  the  Word,  and  considers  them 
in  their  relation  to  the  whole  of  revelation.  This  is  the  method 
that  will  be  adopted  in  these  studies. 

4-OOp      3500     3000     2500     2000      1500       I000v.v,,500       ^mfj, 

1  I       ^       I  I 

AJENAMSZC 

Adam       Jared     Enoch       Noah    Abraham    Moses    Solomon  Zerubbabel  Christ 

2.  To  assist  in  the  study  of  a  general  survey  of  Bible  history, 
we  give  as  a  memory  outline  above  a  chart  of  the  centuries 
between  Adam  and  Christ.  We  use  in  this  the  chronology  in  our 
Bibles,  not  because  it  is  correct,  but  because  scholars  have  not 
yet  agreed  on  a  better,  especially  for  the  ages  before  Abraham. 

All  the  names  are  well-known  but  that  of  Jared,  and  his  is  put 
in  merely  to  mark  the  close  of  the  first  half-millennium.  Memorize 
these  names  so  that  you  can  reproduce  the  chart  without  looking 
at  the  book.  This  exercise  of  memory  will  enable  you  to  locate 
the  chief  events  of  Bible  history  roughly  in  their  appropriate 
chronological  environment.  Are  you  reading  about  any  event 
in  the  wanderings  of  Israel?  Of  course  you  are  between  the 
letters  M.  and  S.  Is  it  a  story  of  Elijah  that  you  are  studying? 
Then  the  event  must  lie  between  the  letters  S.  and  Z.  The 
biography  of  Nehemiah?    It  must  lie  to  the  right  of  the  letter  Z. 

3.  One  peculiarity  of  the  Bible  narrative  is  that  at  times 
it  is  quite  diffuse,  and  covers  much  space  on  the  sacred  page, 
while  at  other  times  it  is  most  highly  condensed.  For  example, 
the  first  twelve  chapters  of  Genesis  cover  over  2000  years  at 
the  lowest  computation.  All  the  rest  of  Genesis  (thirty-eight 
chapters)  covers  the  lives  of  four  men,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob, 
and  Joseph.     The  first   chapter  of  Exodus  covers  centuries 


12  The  Book 

while  all  the  rest  of  Exodus,  all  of  Leviticus,  all  of  Numbers  and 
all  of  Deuteronomy  cover  only  forty  years.  Surely  there  must 
be  some  good  reason  for  this.  Again,  two  chapters  in  Matthew 
and  two  in  Luke  cover  thirty  years  of  our  Lord's  life,  while  a-11 
the  rest  of  the  four  Gospels  cover  only  three  and  a  half  years. 

4.  Another  peculiarity  of  the  Word  is  that  the  miraculous 
element  is  very  unevenly  distributed.  At  times  miracles  abound, 
and  at  other  times  they  are  but  few  in  number.  In  the  first 
eleven  chapters  of  Genesis,  covering  more  than  2000  years,  there 
are  few  miracles,  outside  of  those  of  the  creation.  But  in  the 
period  after  that,  covered  by  the  four  great  Patriarchs,  we  find 
more  miracles  than  before. 

During  the  Mosaic  period,  beginning  with  Exodus  2,  we  find 
that  miracles  begin  to  multiply  as  never  before.  For  instance,  God 
fed  his  people  for  forty  years  (except  on  the  Sabbath)  with  manna. 
Again,  in  the  times  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  the  narrative  amplifies, 
and  the  miracles  multiply.  And  once  more  when  we  come  to  the 
Messianic  period,  as  exemplified  in  the  story  of  Christ,  the  narra- 
tive becomes  fourfold,  and  the  miracles  multiply  as  never  before. 
What  is  the  reason  for  this  amplification  of  narrative  and  simul- 
taneous multiplication  of  the  miraculous?  It  is  because  these 
periods  were  exceptionally  significant.  In  them  God  was  trying 
to  teach  men  lessons  of  peculiar  importance.  So  he  led  the 
writers  to  tell  the  story  more  in  full,  and  he  himself  emphasized 
the  teaching  by  his  own  Divine  interposition. 

5.  In  the  Patriarchal  period  God  was  calling  out  him  who 
was  to  be  the  founder  of  that  people  which  was  to  preserve  God's 
law  through  the  ages,  and  from  whom  at  last  was  to  come  Jesus, 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  This  was  a  most  important  period, 
and  one  with  which  we  might  well  become  acquainted. 

6.  In  the  Mosaic  period  God  was  bringing  out  his  people 
from  bondage  and  was  giving  to  them  laws  that  were  to  shape 
their  national  life  for  all  time.  He  was  also  giving  to  them  a 
typology  in  high  priest,  tabernacle,  and  sacrifice  that  was  to  lead 
them  in  the  way  of  truth  until,  in  the  fulness  of  the  time,  he  was  to 
come  who  was  the  fulfilment  of  both  law  and  type,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  the  Son  of  God. 

7.  In   the  period   of  Elijah  and   his  great  pupil,  EHsha, 


The  Bible  13 

God  was  making  a  great  effort  to  call  back  to  himself  Israel,  or 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  which  had  been  led  into  gross  idolatry 
by  Jeroboam,  and  later  by  Ahab. 

8.  In  the  Messianic  period  God  was  fulfilling  all  that  he 
had  promised  from  the  beginning  as  to  a  Redeemer  who  was  to 
come.  He  who  had  spoken  to  the  fathers  through  the  prophets, 
and  the  various  types,  was  now  to  speak  to  men  through  the 
person  of  his  Son.  Good  reason  then  why,  at  the  four  periods 
to  which  we  have  called  attention,  God  should  provide  that  the 
narrative  should  be  more  full  than  at  other  times,  and  that 
simultaneously  there  should  be  the  marked  intervention  of  the 
miraculous,  to  prove  that  God  was  truly  speaking  to  men,  and 
giving  them  divine  directions  as  to  how  to  act,  and  what  to  believe. 

9.  It  follows,  then,  that  there  are  four  periods  to  which  we 
should  pay  especial  attention,  as  being  of  unusual  importance, 
and  these  are  the  Patriarchal  period,  the  Mosaic  period,  the 
period  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  and  the  period  of  the  Messiah.  If 
the  student  be  well  posted  as  to  the  occurrences  during  these 
periods,  and  their  teaching,  he  will  have  at  least  a  good  working 
outline  of  the  whole  of  the  Bible  history  in  its  most  important 
developments.  To  emphasize  these  periods  we  have  added  on 
the  chart  in  the  Memory  Outline  the  dots  that  will  be  seen, 
multiplying  them  at  each  period  somewhat  in  proportion  to  the 
multiplication  of  the  miraculous  element  in  the  narrative. 

Test  Questions 

What  two  ways  are  there  of  studying  the  Bible? 

What  advantage  is  there  for  our  purposes  in  the  second  method? 

Give  the  nine  names  that  divide  the  Old  Testament  times  into 
periods  of  five  centuries  each. 

What  chronological  peculiarity  do  we  find  in  the  Bible  nar- 
rative? 

Give  some  examples  of  this.  (Pick  out  other  instances  of 
this  yourself.) 

What  peculiarity  do  we  find  in  the  distribution  of  the  miracles? 

Name  the  four  periods  in  which  the  narrative  amplifies  and 
at  the  same  time  the  miracles  multiply. 


Lesson  i 


The  Old  Testament  Division 
PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 

Prelude. — The  story  of  creation  (Gen.  i,  2).  God  was 
the  author  of  all  and  no  idolatry  was  to  be  permitted. 

First  Period. — Adam,  the  first  man;  sinned  and  fell 
(Gen.  3). 

Second  Period. — Noah,  the  head  of  a  family,  saved  in  the  ark 
from  a  devastating  flood;  a  new  beginning  for  the  human 
race,  followed  by  another  failure  (Gen.  6,  7,  8).  The  tower 
of  Babel  (Gen.  11  :4).    Confusion  of  tongues  (Gen.  11  :5-9). 

Third  Period. — The  chosen  family,  under  Abraham,  broadens 
to  tribal  life.  The  descent  to  Egypt  (Gen.  46).  Pros- 
perity (Gen.  47  :  11),  followed  by  oppression  (Exod.  i  :  8- 
22).  Moses  the  deliverer  (Exod.  3  :  i— ii).  The  march 
out  of  Egypt  (Exod.  12).  Legislation  at  Mount  Sinai 
(Exod.  20).  Entry  into  Canaan  (Josh.  1-4).  Times  of 
the  Judges.    (Judg.  i  to  21). 

Fourth  Period. — Three  kings  in  all  Israel — Saul,  David, 
Solomon  (i  Sam.  10  to  i  Kings  12).     The  divided  kingdom. 

Fifth  Period. — The  captivity 
(2  Kings  25).  The  return. 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

Leading  Names. — First  and 
Second     periods — Adam, 
Noah;  Third  period — Abra- 
ham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph, 
Moses,      Joshua,     Samuel ; 
Fourth  period — Saul,  David, 
Hezekiah,     Josiah,     Elijah, 
Elisha,     Isaiah,     Jeremiah, 
Amos,  Hosea;  Fifth  period — 
Zerubbabel,      Ezra,     Nehe- 
miah, Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi. 
TIME. — From  an  unknown  time  to  about  400  B.  C. 
LANDS. — Armenia,  Chaldea,  Palestine,  Egypt,   Persia. 
14 


Lesson  i  15 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— The  Old  Testament  begins  with 
a  statement  of  the  creation;  tells  of  the  introduction  of  man, 
"made  in  the  image  of  God;"  records  the  downfall  of  man 
and  God's  many  efforts  to  redeem  him;  recites  the  incidents 
of  God's  dealings  with  chosen  individuals,  selected  families 
and  a  particular  nation;  continues  with  this  nation  sepa- 
rated into  two  parts  and  held  captive  by  a  foreign  power, 
and  closes  with  the  return  of  a  part  of  Judah.  With  the 
entrance  of  sin  came  the  promise  of  salvation  through 
one  who  should  come  out  of  the  chosen  (Jewish)  nation. 

The  Old  Testament  Preview 

Note. — The  Chronology  used  throughout  is  based  on 

"The  Dated  Events  of  the  Old  Testament," 

by  Willis  Judson  Beecher. 

1.  Two  Great  Divisions. — In  biblical  history  here  are  two 
great  divisions,  that  of  the  Old  Testament  and  that  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  well  to  have  clear  outlines  in  our  minds  with 
regard  to  the  great  outstanding  characteristics  of  these  periods. 
In  making  these  divisions  into  the  periods  that  follow  we  have  no 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord"  for  our  guidance,  but  use  the  best  common 
sense  that  we  have.  Others  might  make  a  different  division, 
but  we  give  that  below  as  at  the  least  suggestive. 

2.  Prelude. — The  great  preludo  of  creation.  Here  we  are 
told  that  all  things  find  their  origin  in  God.  This  teaching  is 
in  contradistinction  to  the  claim  that  matter  is  eternal.  It  also 
denies  the  doctrine  that  the  world  was  made  by  chance.  It 
places  the  beginning  of  all  things  seen  in  the  power  of  One  who 
is  from  eternity  to  eternity.  This  satisfies  the  cravings  of  the 
human  heart  as  no  other  teaching  does. 

3.  First  Period. — Adam  to  Noah.  Here  we  have  the  first 
stage  in  the  drama  of  human  history.  In  it  we  find  the  begin- 
nings of  the  human  race,  of  sin,  and  of  redemption.  Three  most 
important  beginnings.  It  is  covered  by  Genesis  2  to  5  inclusive. 
It  is  marked  by  total  failure  on  the  part  of  man.  "Every  imagi- 
nation of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually" 
(Gen.  6:  5).     Man  proved  hhnself  recreant  to  God's  holy  law. 


i6  The  Book 

4.  Second  Period. — Noah  to  Abraham.  Chapters  6  to  12. 
God  makes  a  new  beginning  with  the  family  of  Noah.  But, 
as  before,  man  proves  himself  disobedient  and  faithless  to  his 
God.  We  find  a  great  civilization,  but  little  godliness.  For 
the  second  time  man  proves  a  failure,  so  far  as  obedience  to  God's 
law  is  concerned.  Man  in  his  pride  says,  "Come,  let  us  build," 
while  God  on  his  part  says,  "Come,  let  us  confound"  (Gen.  11:4 
and  7). 

But  little  space  is  given  in  the  Bible  to  these  two  periods,  for 
they  are  in  reality  preliminary  to  the  third,  which  is  of  vastly 
more  importance  than  the  two  put  together. 

5.  Third  Period. — Abraham  to  Kings.  Genesis  12  through 
to  I  Samuel  9.  This  is  a  most  important  period.  Here  God 
changes  his  method  of  treating  man.  From  henceforth  he  will 
chiefly  communicate  truth  to  mankind  through  a  chosen  family 
and  nation.  Not  that  no  man  outside  of  this  circle  can  know 
God's  will,  but  that  especially  through  Abraham  and  his  seed 
God  chooses  to  make  his  will  known,  until,  in  the  fulness  of  time, 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Abraham  according  to  the  flesh,  shall  come  and 
reveal  clearly  God's  love  and  redemption  to  men. 

In  this  section  we  have  the  story  of  the  patriarchal  family, 
first  coming  out  of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  and  living  for  a  while  in 
Canaan.  Then  they  go  down  to  Egypt,  and  at  last  are  oppressed. 
After  being  welded  together  in  the  furnace  of  affliction  they 
are  brought  out  with  a  mighty  hand  and  an  outstretched  arm,  and 
in  the  wilderness  they  receive  the  law  of  God  through  their  great 
leader,  Moses.  Here  too  they  learn  the  way  of  acceptable 
worship,  and  are  prepared  for  entry  into  the  Land  of  Promise. 
Then  follows  the  conquest  of  the  land  under  Moses'  successor, 
Joshua.  Now  comes  the  period  of  the  Judges,  when  God  rules 
his  people  directly  through  these  divinely  called  men.  This 
is  easily  seen  to  be  a  most  important  period.  All  this  time 
Israel  only  is  monotheistic  (believing  in  one  God),  but  all  the 
other  nations  of  the  earth  are  grossly  idolatrous.  During  this 
period  we  see  that  so  long  as  God's  chosen  people  obey  him 
they  prosper,  while  as  soon  as  they  disobey  disasters  begin  to 
multiply. 

In  this  period,  too,  was  given  that  legislation  which  has  been 


Lesson  i  17 


the  foundation  of  all  the  legislation  of  civilized  nations  from 
that  time  to  this.  Here  also  we  have  the  foundations  of  that 
system  of  types  that  culminated  in  Jesus,  great  David's  greater 
Son.  Sacrifice,  high  priest,  tabernacle,  here  have  their  origin 
or  their  development.  In  all  the  history  of  the  world  up  to  that 
time  there  was  no  period  so  fraught  with  blessings  for  mankind 
as  was  this  period. 

6.  Fourth  Period. — Kings  to  captivity.  i  Samuel  9  to 
2  Kings  25.     This  may  be  divided  into  two  parts: 

(i)  The  united  monarchy.  This  lasted  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  and  had  three  kings,  Saul,  David,  Solomon.  Saul 
brought  something  of  order  out  of  national  chaos.  David 
carried  this  still  farther  and  made  Israel  truly  a  great  nation. 
Solomon,  however,  through  too  much  luxury  and  many  political 
alliances,  sowed  the  seeds  of  national  decay. 

(2)  Now  comes  the  division  of  the  monarchy,  brought  on  by 
the  foUy  of  Rehoboam,  Solomon's  son.  Because  of  his  refusal 
to  lighten  the  heavy  taxes,  ten  tribes  revolted  and  established 
a  kingdom  under  Jeroboam.  Ever  after  this  they  were  known 
as  Israel,  also  called  by  us  the  Northern  Kingdom.  The  King- 
dom of  Judah  is  also  known  as  the  Southern  Kingdom. 

Israel,  or  the  Northern  Kingdom  went  from  the  worship  of 
the  golden  calves  to  that  of  Baal,  and  continued  on  the  down- 
ward course  until  they  went  into  captivity.  They  had  only 
one  good  king,  named  Jehu,  and  he  was  none  too  good. 

Judah,  or  the  Southern  Kingdom  fared  somewhat  better,  though 
even  here  there  was  much  idolatry.  At  last  Judah  too  went  into 
captivity,  on  account  of  its  sin.  It  is  most  suggestive  to  com- 
pare the  triumphant  entry  of  Israel  into  the  land,  and  its  shame- 
ful exit  in  chains  and  tears.  It  was  all  brought  about  through 
abandoning  the  God  of  Abraham.  There  are  some  in  modern 
days  who  claim  that  Israel  had  naturally  a  monotheistic 
tendency,  and  on  that  account  slowly  worked  its  way  out  of  poly- 
theism into  monotheism.  The  writer  does  not  so  read  the  his- 
tory, but  finds  that  Israel  had  an  inveterate  tendency  to  poly- 
theism, and  that  God  only  cured  it  of  this  sin  through  the  sorrows 
of  the  captivity. 

7.  Fifth  Period. — Captivity  and  return.  Read  Ezra  and 
2 


1 8  The  Book 

Nehemiah.  This  is  not  a  period  of  great  glory,  like  that  of 
Solomon's  reign.  But  it  is  a  period  most  remarkable  on  account 
of  the  fact  that  Judah  was  now  strictly  monotheistic,  and  from 
that  day  to  this,  over  two  thousand  years,  it  has  remained  so. 
In  the  furnace  fires  of  captivity  God  cured  his  people  once  and 
forever  of  their  besetting  sin,  idolatry.  This  is  a  most  remark- 
able fact,  for  the  nations  into  which  they  went  as  captives  were 
themselves  totally  idolatrous. 

In  this  period  comes  the  building  of  the  second  temple,  the 
reform  under  Ezra,  and  the  building  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
under  Nehemiah. 

8.  Now  the  story  closes  for  four  centuries  and  does  not  open 
until  the  New  Testament  times  (with  which  we  shall  deal  later 
on)  begin. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Into  what  two  great  divisions  is  the  Bible  divided? 

2.  Give  the  theme  of  the  Prelude  to  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  Give  the  extent  of  the  first  period. 

4.  What  was  its  outcome? 

5.  Give  the  extent  of  the  second  period. 

6.  In  what  moral  condition  did  its  termination  find  mankind? 

7.  From  whom  to  whom  did  the  third  period  reach? 

8.  What  change  in  God's  method  of  revelation  did  the  third 
period  manifest? 

9.  With  what  family  did  God  begin  now  to  deal  more  specifi- 
cally? 

10.  Where  did  family  life  merge  into  national  life? 

11.  What  two  important  phases  of  divine  revelation  did  this 
period  include? 

12.  Give  the  limits  of  the  fourth  period. 

13.  Give  the  two  divisions  of  period  four. 

14.  Give  the  cause  of  the  division  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

15.  What  was  the  course  of  history  in  the  Northern  Kingdom? 

16.  What  course  did  history  take  in  the  Southern  Kingdom? 

17.  Give  the  two  prominent  features  of  period  five. 

18.  What  marked  change  had  come  over  Judah  between  the 
captivity  and  the  return? 

19.  Give  the  great  names  that  are  prominent  in  the  several 
periods  into  which  we  have  divided  the  Old  Testament  times. 


Lesson  2 


From  Creation  to  Abraham 

Old  Testament  Division— Prelude,  First  Period,  Second  Period 

PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 
Prelude. 

Account  of  the  Creation.— The  creation  days:  Light    (Gen. 

I  :  3-5);  firmament  (i  :  6-8);    land   and  water  separated, 

vegetation   (i  '.9-13);   heavenly   bodies — sun,  moon,   stars 

(i :  14-19) ;  fish,  birds  and  animals  (i :  19-25) ;  man  (i :  26-31). 

First  Period. 

Creation  of  Man. — Man  made   in  God's  image  (Gen  i  :  27) ; 
creation     of     Eve     (Gen.     2  ;  21,  22).      Entrance   of    sin 
and  the  fall  (3  :  1-6) ;  Cain,  son  of  Adam  and  Eve,  killed  his 
brother  Abel  (4  :  3-8). 
Second  Period. 

The  Flood. — The  prevalence  of  wickedness  (Gen.  6 :  5)  caused 

God  to  destroy  the  population  of  the  world  by  flood,  with  the 

exception  of  Noah,  his  family,  and  selected  animals  (Gen. 

6-8).     God  made  a  covenant  with  Noah  not  to  destroy  the 

people  again  by  flood  (9 :  8- 

17). 

The  Tower    of    Babel.— The 

wickedness  in  the  heart  of 

men    found    expression    in 

the    building   of   the   great 

tower    of    Babel,    and    the 

punishment     therefor    was 

the    confusion    of    tongues 

(11:1-9). 

TIME. — From  an  unknown  time 

to  1928  B.  C. 
PLACES.— Garden  of  Eden,  Western  Asia,  Babylon. 
SIGNIFICANCE    OF    EVENTS.— The   creative   period   marks 
God  as  the  supreme  author  of  the  universe  and  of  its  inhabi- 

19 


20  The  Book 

tants;  sinless  at  first,  man  falls,  and  begins  the  battle  with 
evil  which  shall  cease  only  with  the  ultimate  complete 
triumph  of  Christ,  the  Redeemer,  The  flood  marks  the  first 
of  a  series  of  tremendous  efforts  to  save  the  world  from  the 
thraldom  of  sin. 

Before  the  Chosen  Family 

9.  Prelude. — This  is  the  beginning  of  all  things,  and  well 
suits  the  cravings  of  the  human  mind.  It  says,  "In  the  begin- 
ning God  created."  This  beginning  does  not  go  as  far  back  as 
that  of  John  i  :  i,  for  that  antedates  creation  and  points  to  a 
beginning  before  God  created.  That  is,  John  sweeps  back  to 
that  beginning  when  as  yet  there  was  none  but  God.  If  this 
statement  of  Genesis  i  :  i  is  compared  with  creation  myths 
as  found  among  other  nations,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  to  be  far 
grander  and  more  in  accord  with  our  best  thoughts  of  the  divine 
activity.  Unbelief  may  say,  "In  the  beginning  matter,"  or  "in 
the  beginning  force,"  but  that  does  not  satisfy  the  human  heart 
as  do  the  words  of  the  sacred  writer. 

In  this  beginning  we  see  the  origin  of  all  things.  Genesis 
means  "beginnings,"  and  in  this  book  we  find  the  beginnings 
of  matter,  of  vegetable  life,  of  animal  life,  of  man,  of  sin, 
of  sacrifice,  of  material  civilization,  of  the  Covenant  People,  and 
of  Redemption.  Truly  a  wonderful  book.  Well  has  it  been  said 
that  "Genesis  enfolds  all  that  the  rest  of  the  Bible  unfolds."  In  this 
booic  we  find  the  germ  of  all  that  is  to  follow.  If  we  would  know 
the  inner  significance  of  all  that  we  find  in  Genesis  we  must  look 
to  Revelation. 

10.  Period  One. — Adam  to  Noah.  Here  comes  the  story  of 
the  creation  of  man.  Innocent  he  was  at  the  first,  but  in  the 
trial  to  which  he  is  brought,  man  fails,  and  disobeys.  As  sinner, 
he  now  hides  from  the  face  of  God,  and  has  to  be  sought  out  by 
his  heavenly  Father.  Sin  created  a  barrier  between  God  the 
Holy  One  and  man  the  sinner.  Then  it  is  that  God  begins  his 
work  of  redemption,  and  in  Genesis  3  :  15  we  see  the  first 
promise  of  that  redemption  that  is  to  be  fulfilled  in  Jesus  in  later 
days.  In  this  period  we  see  the  first  sacrifice,  and  in  it,  too,  we 
come  across  the  full  fruitage  of  hatred,  which  culminated  in 


Lesson  2  21 

murder.  Man  proves  to  be  a  sad  failure,  and  the  record  is  that 
God  looks  down  from  heaven  to  see  how  man  is  acting.  "And 
Jehovah  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only- 
evil  continually"  (Gen.  6:5).  From  that  day  to  this,  man 
when  left  to  himself  reproduces  this  picture,  as  may  be  seen  in 
those  lands  where  there  is  no  light  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God. 

The  chief  characters  of  this  period  are  Adam  and  Eve, 
Cain  and  Abel,  Enoch,  who  "walked  with  God:  and  he  was 
not;  for  God  took  him,"  Noah  and  his  three  sons — Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth. 

11.  Period  Two. — This  lasts  from  Noah  to  Abraham.  God 
blots  out  the  human  race  as  it  then  existed  and  begins  it  anew. 
So  far,  all  that  we  know  of  the  human  race  lived  in  the  Euphrates 
valley,  and  all  modern  research  confirms  the  Bible  statement  with 
regard  to  this.  It  need  not  be  maintained  that  the  flood  was 
universal,  in  the  sense  that  it  covered  the  whole  world,  as  we 
now  know  it.  All  that  is  needful  to  believe  is  that  the  "known 
world"  was  subject  to  a  devastating  flood  that  caused  the  human 
race  to  perish,  with  the  exception  of  Noah  and  his  family. 
Warned  by  God  Noah  builds  the  ark,  and  embarks  in  it.  The 
rains  descend  and  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  are  broken 
up,  and  the  land  is  submerged.  In  due  time,  the  rains  cease, 
and  the  floods  dry  up,  and  Noah  sends  out  first  a  raven,  which 
returns  not.  Then  he  sends  out  a  dove,  which  comes  back  to 
the  ark,  not  finding  any  resting-place.  In  seven  days  he  sends 
out  another  dove,  which  returns  bringing  an  olive-leaf  in  her 
mouth.  The  third  time  he  sends  forth  a  dove,  which  returns 
not.  Then  in  due  time  Noah  goes  forth  from  the  ark,  which 
had  rested  on  Mount  Ararat  in  Armenia. 

12.  Now  follows  the  beautiful  story  of  the  sacrifice  that  Noah 
offers,  and  the  promise  of  God  never  again  to  send  a  deluge  on 
the  earth.  This  promise  is  confirmed  by  the  symbol  of  the  rain- 
bow. Of  course  there  had  been  rainbows  before  this,  but  this 
time  God  takes  the  rainbow  and  makes  it  a  symbol  of  his  mercy 
to  sinful  man. 

13.  The  Tower  of  Babel. — In  this  period   there  is  a  great 


22  The  Book 

advance  in  civilization,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  careful  reading 
of  Genesis  lo  :  1-32.  Cities  are  built  and  nations  are  founded 
by  the  descendants  of  the  Patriarch  Noah.  But  the  evil  tendency 
of  the  human  heart  again  shows  itself,  and  the  pride  of  man's 
achievement  fills  the  heart  of  the  descendants  of  Noah.  Then 
comes  the  story  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  in  this  we  read  most 
significantly,  "And  they  said,  Come,  let  us  build."  To  this 
God's  reply  is  "Come,  let  us  confound."  Man's  pride  is  to  be 
abased,  and  put  to  confusion.  So  the  human  race  is  scattered 
abroad  and  its  cherished  plans  are  broken  up.  For  the  second 
time,  man  is  seen  to  be  a  failure,  and  there  is  call  for  another 
way  of  dealing  with  the  race  if  the  truth  is  to  be  preserved.  This 
third  beginning  is  to  be  found  in  Period  Three,  with  which  our 
next  lesson  will  deal. 

Test  Questions 

1.  State  how  the  Gospel  of  John  has  a  sweep  farther  back 
even  than  Genesis  1:1. 

2.  What  beginnings  may  we  find  in  the  book  of  Genesis? 

3.  How  does  man  act  toward  God,  as  soon  as  he  transgresses 
his  law? 

4.  Where  do  we  find  the  beginning  of  the  story  of  redemp- 
tion? 

5.  Give  the  names  of  the  chief  actors  in  this  first  period  of 
Bible  history. 

6.  Give  the  divine  estimate  of   the  moral  condition  of  man 
before  the  flood. 

7.  Where  does  the   Bible  place  the  story  of  the  beginnings 
of  the  human  race? 

8.  Give  the  story  of  the  building  of  the  ark  and  of  the  flood. 

9.  In  the  second  period,  what  may  we  say  of  civilization? 
How  did  its  magnitude  show  itself? 

10.  Give  the  record  of  the  scattering  of  the  human  race. 

11.  Was  the  second  trial  of   man  any  more  successful  than 
the  first,  regarded  from  the  religious  standpoint? 


Lesson  3 


From  Abraham  to  Jacob 

Old  Testament  Division— Third  Period 

LEADING  PERSONS 

Abraham. — I^ived  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.     Called  by  God  to 

leave  country  and  home  and  kindred  to  go  to  Canaan,  the 

promised  land  (Gen.  12  :  i  to  25  :  11). 
Isaac. — Son  of  Abraham  (Gen  21).    Proposed  as  a  sacrifice 

(Gen.  22  :  1-19).    Married  Rebekah  (Gen.  24). 
Esau. — Son  of   Isaac.     Sold   his   birthright   to   his  brother 

(Gen.  25  :  27-34). 
Jacob. — Son  of  Isaac.     By  a  trick  secured  his  father's  parting 

blessing,    to    which    Esau    was    entitled   (Gen.   27  :  1-45). 

Journeyed  in  search  of  a  wife,  and  married  (Gen,  28:  10  to 

31  :  16).    Returned  and  was  forgiven  by  Esau  (Gen.  31:17 

to  33  :  20).     His  name  changed  to  Israel  and  he  became 

the    father   of    the   Jewish    nation  (Gen.  35:9—15).      Had 

twelve  sons,  who  become  the  heads  of  the  Twelve  Tribes 

of  Israel  (Gen.  35  :  23-27). 
TIME.~i928  B.  C.  to  the  bh-th 

of  Joseph,  1752  B.  C. 
PLACES.  —  Ur     of     Chaldees, 

Canaan,  Egypt. 
SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS. 

— With  Abraham  God  began 

acourseof  dealings  with  man 

which  continued  for  about 

two  thousand  years.  Setting 

apart    Abraham    with    his 

family  was  really  the  begin- 
ning of  the  chosen  nation, 

although  the  national  life  did 

not  begin  until  after  the  escape  from  Egypt  (see  Lesson  5) 

23 


©UACK 


24  The  Book 

Abraham,  the  Father  of  the  Faithful. 

14.  The  Bible  Deals  Largely  in  Biographies. — If  you  know 
well  the  stories  of  the  great  Patriarchs,  you  know  the  best  part  of 
Genesis.  Again,  if  you  know  the  stories  of  Moses,  Joshua, 
Gideon,  Samuel,  David,  you  will  have  mastered  most  of  the  history 
of  Israel  from  Exodus  through  2  Samuel.  This  is  the  reason  why 
in  these  lessons  we  deal  so  largely  with  Bible  biographies. 

15.  Abraham. — Abraham  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  in  all 
history.  He  was  the  founder  of  that  people  through  whom  we 
have  received  all  of  the  Bible,  excepting  only  what  Luke,  the 
beloved  Physician,  has  given  us.  This  of  itself  is  no  small 
distinction.  But  more.  He  is  the  great  progenitor  of  him  whom 
we  know  as  the  Messiah  and  the  world's  Redeemer. 

16.  Abraham  and  his  Call. — The  call  came  to  him  in  his 
home  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  Exactly  in  what  way  it  came  we  are 
not  told.  It  may  have  been  an  inward  call,  such  as  believers  to 
this  day  have  at  times.  Bear  in  mind  that  Abraham's  ancestors 
were  idolaters,  and  that  the  land  in  which  he  lived  was  totally 
idolatrous. 

This  call  was  twofold.  It  was  a  call  "out  of,"  and  a  call 
"in  to."  Out  of  home  and  family  and  religious  antecedent. 
In  to  a  new  environment  geographically,  socially,  religiously. 

This  call  he  obeyed  at  once,  and  forth  he  went,  not  knowing 
his  ultimate  destination.  At  Haran  he  paused  until  the  death 
of  his  father.  Then  on  he  went.  How  he  knew  what  direction 
to  take  we  are  not  told.  It  may  have  been  that  he  pushed  for- 
ward as  the  migrating  bird  pushes  ahead,  driven  by  a  kind  of 
inward  impulse,  blindly  but  surely.     This  at  least  is  my  idea. 

17.  Abraham  and  the  Land. — At  last  Abraham  comes  to 
Shechem,  and  there  for  the  first  time  God  tells  him  that  this  is 
the  land  of  which  he  had  spoken.  There,  for  the  first  time  in 
that  land,  an  altar  was  raised  to  the  true  God.  From  that  day 
to  this,  and  to  the  end  of  time,  that  land  and  the  Chosen  People 
have  been  and  will  be  identified. 

18.  Abraham  and  Egypt. — Driven  by  famine,  the  Patriarch 
goes  down  to  Egypt.  There  is  no  record  that  he  was  divinely 
guided  in  this,  and  from  the  fact  that  there  he  gets  into  trouble. 


Lesson  3  25 

and  that  God  does  not  appear  to  him  at  all  in  Egypt,  we  may 
infer  that  this  was  not  any  part  of  the  divine  plan.  God  does 
not  appear  to  his  servant  again  until  he  returns  to  the  Land, 
and  builds  his  altar  "where  it  was  at  the  first"    (Gen.  13.  1-18). 

19.  Abraham  and  Lot. — Lot  was  Abraham's  nephew.  His 
character  differs  widely  from  that  of  his  uncle.  Mark,  in  his 
dealings  with  his  greedy  nephew,  the  grandeur  of  the  Patriarch's 
character.  As  the  land  cannot  "bear"  the  two  sets  of  flocks, 
Abraham  gives  Lot  the  first  choice  of  the  land,  and  declares  that 
he  will  take  what  Lot  leaves.  This  is  not  after  the  manner  of 
the  "natural  man."  Decency  would  have  led  Lot  to  decline 
his  uncle's  generous  offer.  But  Lot  was  not  decent,  and  so 
seized  all  that  he  could.  In  the  end  this  led  to  Lot's  ruin.  It 
is  most  suggestive  to  note  the  steps  in  Lot's  career.  First  he 
pitched  his  tent  "towards"  Sodom.  Then  we  find  him  "in" 
Sodom.  Then  he  sits  in  "the  gate"  of  Sodom — that  is,  he  has 
become  a  prominent  man  in  that  accursed  city.  Soon  we  see 
him  involved  in  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  by  the  four  kings. 
Still  he  returns  to  that  city,  after  his  rescue  by  his  uncle.  And 
at  last  he  has  to  escape  from  its  final  ruin,  penniless.  We  read 
in  2  Peter  2:  7  that  Lot  was  vexed  with  the  wicked  life  of  the 
Sodomites.  It  has  always  seemed  a  pity  that  he  was  not  suffi- 
ciently vexed  to  get  out  from  the  city,  bag  and  baggage,  long 
before  he  did. 

Again  look  at  Abraham  when  he  had  gained  the  victory  over 
the  kings  as  told  in  Genesis  14.  How  grandly  he  stands,  refusing 
to  touch  what  comes  from  Sodom  from  a  thread  to  a  shoe  latchet. 
By  the  laws  of  war  in  that  time  all  the  "loot"  was  his.  But  he 
would  not  touch  it.  Bear  in  mind  that  this  was  2000  years 
before  the  Golden  Rule  was  given,  yet  here  we  have  a  man 
exemplifying  it  grandly.  What  a  contrast  between  Abraham 
and  some  of  the  troops  in  modern  sieges,  where  they  have  seized 
all  that  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  This  was  nearly  2000  years 
after  Jesus  uttered  the  Golden  Rule.  Who  was  more  truly 
Christ-like,  Abraham,  2000  B.  C,  or  we,  2000  A.  D.? 

20.  Abraham  and  Hagar. — The  Patriarch  was  not  a  perfect 
man.  He  sinned  in  Egypt  (Gen.  12:  10-20),  and  again,  as  told  in 
Genesis  20:  1-16.   Again,  his  faith  in  God's  promise  that  he  should 


26  The  Book 

have  a  son  seems  to  have  grown  dim.  So  he  yields  to  Sarah's 
suggestion,  and  takes  Hagar,  (Gen.  i6).  In  judging  him  for 
this,  bear  in  mind  that  he  had  not  the  light  that  came  in 
later  days,  through  the  further  revelation  of  God's  will.  Then 
Ishmael  was  born.  It  is  most  suggestive  that  from  Ishmael, 
who  was  not  a  "  child  of  faith,"  sprang  in  later  days 
Muhammad  the  great  antagonist  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  came 
from  Abraham  through  Isaac,  the  "child  of  faith." 

21.  Abraham  and  Isaac. — To  understand  the  command  of 
God  in  relation  to  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
the  customs  of  those  days  in  Canaan.  As  we  now  know,  through 
excavations  in  that  land,  human  sacrifices  were  common. 
Remembering  this,  my  own  impression  is  that  God  intended  to 
teach  his  servant  two  things  by  this  command.  First,  that  all 
human  sacrifices  were  abhorrent  to  God;  and  second,  that  his 
obedience  must  be  unquestioning.  God  never  intended  that 
Isaac  should  be  sacrificed.  This  is  apparent  from  the  whole 
narrative.  His  command  was  a  "test"  of  the  utter  obedience 
of  the  Patriarch.  This  test  Abraham  met  grandly.  He  was 
willing  to  trust  God  to  the  last,  though  he  could  not  see  the 
reason  why.  Then  God  showed  him  that  his  son  was  not  to  be 
sacrificed,  and  provided  in  Isaac's  place  a  ram  for  an  offering. 

The  story  of  procuring  a  wife  for  Isaac  is  truly  oriental  in  its 
setting.  But  bear  in  mind,  it  was  accompanied  with  prayer. 
Though  it  is  not  in  accord  with  Western  methods  of  courtship, 
it  turned  out  quite  as  well  as  many  modern  marriages  made  after 
the  custom  of  twentieth  century  "society." 

22.  Abraham  and  Sodom. — Here  again  we  have  this  man 
in  a  grand  light.  He  pleads  for  Sodom,  and  that,  in  spite  of 
its  utter  worthlessness.  But  there  are  not  in  all  of  Sodom 
twenty  righteous  men  to  be  found.  Lot's  family  even,  merely 
scoff  at  him,  and  refuse  to  believe  his  warning.  It  is  most 
suggestive  in  this  connection,  that  "God  remembered  Abraham, 
and  sent  Lot  out  of  the  midst  of  the  overthrow."  (Gen.  19:  29.) 
Lot's  best  asset  in  his  life  was  not  his  real  estate  in  Sodom, 
but  his  godly  uncle  far  from  that  wicked  city.  Just  so  the  best 
asset  that  any  modern  city  has,  is  not  its  stocks  and  bonds,  or 
real  estate,  but  the  truly  godly  people  who  live  in  its  midst. 


Lesson  3  27 


23.  Abraham  and  Machpelah. — There  are  two  places  in 
Canaan  most  intimately  associated  with  Abraham.  These  are 
Shechem,  where  he  first  learned  that  he  was  in  "the  Land" 
at  last,  and  Machpelah,  where  he  laid  Sarah  to  rest  and  where 
he  himself  was  buried.  Here  also  were  buried  Isaac,  Jacob, 
Rebekah,  and  Leah.  (See  Gen.  25:9,  49:30,  and  50:13.)  It 
would  not  be  very  surprising  if  some  day  we  were  to  recover 
their  bodies  from  that  historic  bury ing-pl ace.  Stranger  things 
have  happened. 

Test   Questions 

1.  In  what  does  the  Bible  deal  largely  ? 

2.  Give  the  names  of  the  great  characters  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment up  to  David. 

3.  In  what  two  respects  was  Abraham  one  of  the  greatest  men 
of  history  ? 

4.  In  what  respect  was  the  call  of  Abraham  a  twofold  call  ? 

5.  What  was  the  religious  environment  of  the  Patriarch  in  his 
home  ? 

6.  Where  did  Abraham  first  know  that  he  was  in  "  the  Land  "  ? 

7.  What  did  he  there  "  raise"  at  once  ? 

8.  What  makes  us  think  that  God  did  not  direct  Abraham 
to  go  to  Egypt  ? 

9.  What  characteristics  did  the  Patriarch  show  in  his  relations 
with  Lot  ? 

10.  How  did  Abraham's  faith  show  somewhat  of  an  eclipse  in 
the  matter  of  Hagar  ? 

11.  Who  was  one  of  Ishmael's  descendants,  and  whatdoesthis 
suggest  ? 

12.  To  whom  did  Lot  owe  his  deliverance  from  Sodom  at  its 
overthrow  ? 

13.  Who  were  buried  in  the  Cave  of  Machpelah? 


Lesson  4 
Joseph 

Old  Testament  Division— Third  Period  (Continued) 

LEADING  PERSON 
Joseph. — Son  of  Jacob.  A  favorite  son  (Gen.  37  :  3)  and  a 
dreamer  (Gen.  37  :  5-1 1).  Hated  by  his  brothers  and  sold 
into  Egypt  (Gen.  37  :  12-28).  A  slave,  but  honored;  then 
cast  into  prison  (Gen.  39  :  1-20).  By  interpreting  a 
dream  of  Pharaoh  he  was  brought  into  high  honor,  and  be- 
came Pharaoh's  prime  minister  (Gen.  40  :  i  to  41  :45). 
Stored  up  grain  in  Egypt  to  provide  for  a  famine;  relieved 
the  needs  of  his  brothers,  who  journeyed  to  Egypt  in  search 
of  food;  finally  invited  his  father's  family  to  live  in  Egypt 
(Gen.  42  :  I  to  47  :  12). 
Other  Persons. — Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt.  Potiphar,  an 
officer  of  Pharaoh,  owner  of  Joseph  the  slave.  The  butler 
and  the  baker  of  Pharaoh,  confined  in  prison  while  Joseph 
was  there,  and  the  indirect  means  of  Joseph's  exaltation. 
Jacob,  Joseph's  father;  and  Joseph's  brothers  who  sold 
him  into  Egypt. 

TIME.— 1752  B.  C.  to  1643  B.C. 

PLACES.— Dothan,    in    Pales- 
tine.    Egypt. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS. 
— As  a  result  of  Joseph's 
invitation  to  his  father  and 
brothers,  with  their  family, 
to  come  to  Egypt  and  par- 
take of  his  bounty,  the 
Hebrew  nation,  through  its 
leader,  was  transplanted 
to  Egypt.  Their  sojourn 
as  a  people  lasted  many 
years;  and  brought  them 
into  subjection  to  the 
Egyptian  monarch  (Exod.  i 
28 


8-14). 


Lesson  4  29 

Joseph — Prisoner  and  Prime  Minister 

Here  we  have  a  wonderful  character.  The  life  of  Joseph  may 
be  divided  into  two  parts.  First,  his  humiliation.  Second,  his 
exaltation. 

24.  Joseph's  Humiliation. — Genesis  37,  39,  and  40.  We  see 
him  first  as  his  father's  favorite,  unwisely  made  conspicuous  by 
the  dress  that  his  doting  father  gave  him.  This  arouses  his 
brothers'  envy.  This  envy  was  further  intensified  when  Joseph 
told  them  the  dreams  that  he  had,  which  plainly  foretold  his 
exaltation,  but  which  made  them  angry.  Even  his  father  seems 
to  have  balked  at  the  second  dream  (Gen.  37  :  lo).  Now 
comes  the  cruel  plot  of  the  heartless  brothers,  planned  at  Dothan, 
though,  through  the  providence  of  God,  not  fully  carried  out. 
Their  definite  purpose  is  to  put  him  out  of  the  way,  "and  we 
shall  see  what  will  become  of  his  dreams." 

25.  Here  then  we  have  a  clear  statement  of  God's  plans  and 
men's  plans  with  regard  to  this  seventeen-year-old  lad.  God 
proposes  to  make  him  mighty  in  deeds  for  the  welfare  of  God's 
people.  Men  propose  to  put  him  to  death.  These  two  plans 
cannot  both  be  carried  into  effect.  Which  is  to  prevail?  The 
story  is  a  fascinating  unrolling  of  the  divine  plan  and  the  com- 
plete thwarting  of  the  human  plan. 

26.  Joseph  the  Slave. — The  brothers  change  their  plan,  and 
sell  Joseph  to  traveling  Midianites.  These  take  him  to  Egypt, 
and  sell  him  to  Potiphar,  an  officer  in  Pharaoh's  court.  Note 
here  his  fidelity  in  all  things,  so  that  he  becomes  really  the  over- 
seer in  Potiphar' s  house  (Gen.  39  :  6).  Instead  of  resenting 
his  purchase  by  Potiphar,  he  takes  things  most  patiently,  and 
does  his  duty  bravely. 

27.  Joseph  in  Prison. — Once  more,  through  no  fault  of  his 
own,  Joseph  suffers  further  degradation.  To  prison  he  goes. 
We  said  "through  no  fault  of  his  own."  This  is  an  understate- 
ment, for  it  was  on  account  of  his  fidelity  to  his  master  that  he 
was  shamefully  traduced,  and  so  sent  to  jail.  Yet  even  here  his 
spirit  of  loyalty  to  duty  did  not  desert  him.  Again  we  find  him 
trusted  and  put  in  charge  of  all  prison  matters.  (Gen.  39  :  22, 
23 .)   But  what  has  become  all  this  time  of  God' s  plans  for  Joseph  ? 


30  The  Book 

Are  they  to  be  thwarted?  Nay,  wait  until  the  fulness  of  time, 
;and  then  note  how  God's  plans  ripen,  and  are  fully  perfected. 
In  the  meantime  note  Joseph's  wonderfully  sweet  spirit.  See  how 
he  notices  the  sad  countenanced  of  butler  and  baker  in  prison. 
Note  how  he  sympathizes  with  them,  and  tries  to  help  them. 
Here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  we  see  the  exemplification 
of  the  Golden  Rule,  long  before  it  was  uttered.  Had  Joseph 
been  like  some  modern  men,  he  would  have  taken  vengeance  on 
the  butler  and  baker,  they  being  Egyptians.  He  would  have 
said,  "These  Egyptians  have  enslaved  and  imprisoned  me  for 
ro  fault  of  mine.  Now  is  my  chance,  and  I  will  pay  them  back." 
But  no  such  bitter  thoughts  seem  to  have  entered  his  pure  mind. 
In  the  meantime  note  his  steadfast  faith  in  God  and  his  per- 
sistent loyalty  to  duty,  however  hard  that  might  be. 

28.  Joseph's  Exaltation. — This  came  with  a  leap.  The  story 
is  familiar.  But  in  studying  the  lesson,  let  the  student  not  fail  to 
read  it  once  more,  most  carefully.  If  it  seem  somewhat  incred- 
ible that  Pharaoh  should  make  a  prime  minister  out  of  a  prisoner 
at  one  stroke,  bear  in  mind  that  in  the  East  they  do  not  do  things 
in  Western  fashion.     Even  to  this  day 

"  East  is  East,  and  West  is  West, 
And  never  the  two  shall  meet." 

The  writer  during  his  boyhood  knew  of  a  case  illustrating 
Eastern  methods,  which  took  place  when  he  was  living  in 
his  home  in  Constantinople.  The  Sultan  had  a  dentist.  One 
day  while  his  dentist  was  off  hunting,  the  Sultan  got  a  tooth- 
ache. He  sent  for  his  dentist,  but  could  not  get  him.  His 
courtiers  then  got  hold  of  a  poor  dentist  who  could  hardly  make 
his  living.  He  went  to  the  palace  and  extracted  the  offend- 
ing molar.  At  once  the  Sultan  deposed  his  regular  dentist,  put 
this  man  in  his  place,  created  him  a  pasha,  or  peer  of  the  realm, 
gave  him  a  large  stipend,  and  a  palace  in  the  city  and  another 
in  the  country.  Thus  at  one  stroke  the  man  passed  from  obscur- 
ity to  prominence,  and  from  poverty  to  wealth.  This  is  the 
manner  of  the  East. 

Now  we  begin  to  see  God's  plans  working  out  manifestly.  Yet 
all  this  time  his  brothers  think  that  their  plans  have  succeeded 


Lesson  4  31 

and  that  the  "dreamer's"  career  is  ended.     No,  the  "dreamer's" 
career  has  just  begun. 

29.  The  Seven  Years  of  Plenty. — Now  follow  years  of  great 
activity,  and  of  much  honor  for  the  former  prisoner.  Up  and 
down  the  latvd  he  goes  and  gathers  grain  in  untold  quantities. 
As  he  goes  they  all  a^y,  "Bow  the  knee,"  and  prostrate  them- 
selves in  the  dust  before  him.  At  seventeen  years  of  age  he  was 
sold  by  his  brothers.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  slave,  or  prisoner. 
Now  for  seven  years  he  is  prime  minister.  Yet  all  the  time  Jacob 
thinks  that  his  boy  is  dead.  How  little  did  the  old  Patriarch 
suspect  that  during  all  these  weary  years  God  was  working  out 
his  blessed  plans  for  his  people. 

30.  The  Seven  Years  of  Famine. — Once  more  Joseph  and  his 
brothers  stand  face  to  face.  The  last  they  saw  of  him  was  when 
they  heard  his  bitter  cry,  and  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  entreaty. 
Twenty  years  have  made  a  great  change  in  him  and  they  do  not 
recognize  him.  His  treatment  of  them  may  seem  harsh,  but  he 
knew  what  kind  of  natures  theirs  were,  and  that  to  do  them  good 
he  must  first  humiliate  them.  Out  of  kindness  he  was  stern. 
To  mend  them  and  their  ways  he  must  first  break  them. 

31.  Israel  in  Egypt. — God  had  told  Abraham  that  his  seed 
must  go  down  to  Egypt,  and  now  comes  the  fulfilment  of  that 
prophecy  (Gen.  15  :  13-15).  During  the  life  of  Joseph  all 
went  well  with  the  sons  of  Jacob.  They  had  the  best  of  the  land, 
and  dwelt  in  peace.  God's  plans  have  been  carried  out  to  the 
minutest  details,  and  the  plans  of  evil-minded  men  have  mis- 
carried. God  has  caused  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him, 
and  the  remainder  he  has  restrained.  Joseph's  brethren  are 
content  to  bow  before  him,  and  even  Jacob  sees  that  his  words 
of  Genesis  37  :  10  were  not  wise.  The  wisdom  of  man  is  seen 
to  be  folly,  and  it  has  been  proved  that  "the  foolishness  of  God 
is  wiser  than  men."     (i  Cor.  i  :  25.) 

32.  Joseph's  Faith. — On  his  death-bed  Joseph  takes  an  oath 
of  his  people  saying  that  God  will  surely  visit  his  people  and  bring 
them  in  due  time  to  the  land  promised  to  Abraham.  He  charges 
them  to  remember  his  body  when  they  march  out,  and  take  it 
with  them,  and  lay  it  away  in  its  final  resting-place  in  the  Land  of 
Promise.    Many  years  pass.    Liberty  is  exchanged  for  oppression. 


32  The  Book 

The  bitter  cry  of  the  people  rises  to  God.  All  this  time  the  body 
of  Joseph  (doubtless  embalmed)  is  not  finally  buried.  His  real 
funeral  has  not  yet  taken  place.  This  is  the  longest  delayed 
funeral  on  record.  Then  at  last  comes  the  Exodus,  and  lo,  they 
remember  that  oath  that  Joseph  took  of  them.^vears  before, 
and  out  with  them  goes  his  body.  For  fq,ntj'  years  they  carry  it 
with  them,  and  only  then  they  lay  it  awa>  m  the  Land  of  Promise 
(See  Gen.  50  :  24-26.     Exod.  13:  19,  and  Josh.  24;  32.) 

Test  Questions. 

1.  Into  what  two  sections  may  we  divide  Joseph's  life? 

2.  Why  were  his  brethren  envious  of  him? 

3.  What  further  intensified  their  hatred? 

4.  Give  the  plan  of  God  and  the  plans  of  men  with  regard 
to  Joseph. 

5.  What  action  did  Joseph's  brethren  finally  take  with  regard 
to  him? 

6.  Into  whose  household  did  the  lad  come  in  Egypt? 

7.  What  signs  have  we  that  in  all  this  Joseph  did  not  lose 
his  faith  in  God,  or  lose  his  convictions  as  to  duty? 

8.  How  did  Joseph's  exaltation  come  so  suddenly? 

9.  Give  an  illustration  of  this  from  modern  Eastern  life. 

10.  How  long  was  it  between  the  sale  of  Joseph  and  the  first 
appearance  of  his  brethren  to  buy  corn? 

11.  Why  did  Joseph  treat  his  brothers  as  he  did  when  they 
first  came  to  him? 

12.  What  remarkable  proof  have  we  of  Joseph's  steadfast 
faith  in  God's  promise? 

13.  What  two  most  peculiar  facts  may  be  noted  with  regard 
to  Joseph's  body? 


Lesson  5 


Old  Testament  Division— Third  Period  (Continued) 

LEADING   PERSONS 

Moses. — Son  of  Amram  and  Jochebed  (Exod.  6  :  20).  Adopted 
by  Pharaoh's  daughter  (Exod.  2  :  i-io).  Took  the  part  of 
the  oppressed  and  had  to  flee  (Exod.  2  :  11-14).  Shepherd 
for  forty  years  and  married  (Exod.  2  :  21).  Called  to 
deliver  his  people,  but  was  timid  (Exod.  3  :  i-io).  Had 
various  contests  with  Pharaoh  (Exod.  5  to  12).  Led  people 
out  of  Egypt  triumphantly  (Exod.  14).  Received  the 
Ten  Commandments  (Exod.  20),  Built  the  Tabernacle 
(Exod.  25).  Led  the  people  to  the  borders  of  the  Promised 
Land,  but  was  turned  back  on  account  of  their  sins  (Num. 
13:1  to  14  :  34).  Died  on  Mount  Nebo  (Deut.  34). 
Reappeared  on  Mount  of  Transfiguration  (Matt.  17  :  3). 
Aaron. — Brother  of  Moses.  Made  high  priest  (Exod.  28 
and  29).  Sinned  in  the  matter  of  the  golden  calf  (Exod. 
32).  Died  on  Mount  Hor 
(Deut.  10  :  6). 

TIME.— 1578  B.  C.  to  1458  B.  C. 

PLACES.— Egypt  and  Sinaitic 
Peninusla,  then  east  of  the 
Jordan  valley. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS. 
— The  "going  out"  of  the 
Hebrews  from  Egypt  mark- 
ed the  beginning  of  their 
national  life,  and  laws  were 
given  governing  their  rela- 
tion to  God  and  to  each 
other.  The  breaking  of 
God's  laws  cost  the  nation 
forty  years  of  wilderness 
wandering  before  they  entered  their  "promised  land." 

3  33 


34  The  Book 

Moses — Leader  and  Legislator 

$3.  By  far  the  greatest  man  in  Old  Testament  history  is  Moses. 
In  point  of  moral  uplift,  no  man  in  all  the  world,  until  Christ, 
can  be  compared  with  him.  His  life  divides  itself  into  three  equal 
sections — 

(i)  Life  at  Pharaoh's  court. — Forty  years. 

(2)  Life  as  shepherd  in  the  desert. — Forty  years. 

(3)  Life  in  the  desert  as  leader  of  God's  people. — Forty  years. 

34.  Life  at  Pharaoh's  court. — Moses  was  born  at  the  time 
of  Israel's  greatest  oppression,  when,  as  a  measure  of  self-defense, 
Pharaoh  had  ordered  all  Hebrew  male  children  to  be  cast  into 
the  Nile.  Hence  the  Hebrew  proverb,  "When  the  tale  of  bricks 
is  doubled,  then  comes  Moses."  As  in  the  case  of  Joseph,  we 
see  at  once  the  collision  between  God's  plan  and  that  of  earth's 
greatest  monarch.  God's  plan  was  that  Moses  must  live;  Pha- 
raoh's plan,  that  Moses  must  die.  Again  we  see  the  successful 
issue  of  God's  plan,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  human  plan.  In 
carrying  out  his  plan,  God  makes  use  of  a  mother's  wit,  a  sister's 
fidelity,  a  woman's  curiosity,  and  a  baby's  tears.  For  all  this 
read  carefully  Exodus  2  :  i-io.  These  are  the  minute  links  in 
the  chain  of  God's  providence  which,  welded  together,  restore 
that  babe  to  his  mother's  arms  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours, 
now  with  the  shield  of  royalty  protecting  him.  Had  any  one 
of  these  links  broken,  Moses'  fate  might  have  been  sealed. 

35.  As  illustrating  these  links,  in  a  different  sphere,  read 
the  following:  Professor  Darwin  tells  that  he  noticed  that  pansies 
would  not  grow  wild  near  English  villages,  but  would  grow  far 
away  from  them.  Investigation  revealed  that  in  English  villages 
dogs  go  at  large.  Where  dogs  go  at  large,  cats  must  stay  at 
home;  where  cats  stay  at  home,  field-mice  abound;  where  field- 
mice  abound,  bumblebees'  nests  are  destroyed;  where  bumble- 
bees' nests  are  destroyed,  there  in  no  fertilization  of  pollen. 
Therefore,  where  there  are  dogs,  there  are  no  wild  pansies.  Apply 
this  to  the  case  in  hand.  No  mother's  wit,  no  ark  of  bulrushes; 
no  ark   no  sister's  watch-care,  and  no  chance  to  arouse  the  curi- 


Lesson  5  35 

osity  of  the  princess.  Therefore,  no  discovery  of  the  babe 
weeping.  Consequently,  no  saving  of  the  future  deliverer  of 
his  people.  Thus  God  worked  through  natural  agencies  to  thwart 
the  decree  of  Pharaoh.  During  these  forty  years  Moses  enjoyed 
all  the  educational  advantages  of  the  most  civilized  nation  of 
that  day.  So  he  was  prepared  by  the  king  himself  to  deliver 
the  Hebrews  from  his  control. 

36.  Life  as  Shepherd  in  the  Desert. — Moses'  life  at  court 
came  to  a  sudden  end,  through  his  patriotic  effort  to  deliver  one 
of  his  race  from  the  cruelty  of  an  Egyptian.  As  a  result  he  had 
to  flee  for  his  life,  as  even  Pharaoh  could  not  defend  him  for 
slaying  one  of  the  ruling  race  for  cruelty  to  a  mere  slave.  For 
forty  years  we  find  him  on  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  herding  sheep. 
These  must  have  been  years  of  deep  thought.  Often  he  must 
have  wondered  why  God  had  given  him  such  deliverance,  only 
to  let  him  languish  in  the  desert  while  at  the  same  time  his  people, 
whom  he  might  have  helped,  were  ground  down  under  the  heel 
of  the  taskmaster.  At  the  same  time  these  years  of  solitude 
must  have  been  rich  in  opportunity  for  meditation  and  com- 
munion upward.  The  city  is  not  the  best  place  for  deep  thought 
Elijah  was  no  city  man,  neither  was  John  the  Baptist.  In  soli- 
tude these  men  learned  much  that  the  city  never  could  teach 
them. 

37.  Life  as  a  Leader  of  God's  People  in  the  Desert. — His 
life  of  solitude  came  to  a  sudden  close,  when  God  called  fto  him 
out  of  the  mJdst  of  the  burning  bush,  and  bade  him  return  to 
Egypt  and  deliver  his  people.  At  first  Moses  begged  to  be  excused, 
for  he  doubtless  well  remembered  that  because  of  his  effort  to 
deliver  one  Hebrew,  he  had  been  an  exile  for  forty  years.  How 
then  could  he  succeed  in  delivering  a  nation  ?  But  on  God's 
promise  to  be  with  him,  he  and  his  brother  Aaron  undertook  the 
task. 

38.  Here  we  note  the  collision  between  God's  plan  and  that 
of  the  king.  God's  plan  is.  Let  my  people  go.  Pharaoh's 
plan  is,  they  shall  stay  right  here.  So  the  battle  was  joined. 
Note  that  Pharaoh,  as  a  result  of  the  consecutive  plagues,  relents 
and  tries  compromises.  For  these  read  carefully  the  story  of 
the  plagues,  noting  especially  these  passages:  Exodus  8:8,  15,  25. 


36  The  Book 

32;  Exodus  9:    28,    35;  Exodus   10:    II,   20,   24,   28.     And    at 
last,  when  his  pride  is  utterly  broken,  comes  Exodus  12  :  31. 

39.  Then  came  that  night,  much  to  be  observed,  on  which 
Israel  marched  out  in  triumph,  while  Egypt  mourned,  and  Pha- 
raoh repented  ever  resisting  the  divine  command.  To  this  day 
all  Jews  observe  that  great  night,  called  the  night  of  the  Passover. 

40.  Under  the  crags  of  Mount  Sinai,  Moses  spent  one  year 
with  his  people.  That  was  a  most  significant  year,  as  there  he 
received  the  ten  commandments,  and  the  instructions  as  to  the 
building  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  There, 
too,  he  received  directions  as  to  the  sacrifices  that  were  to  be 
typical  of  that  great  sacrifice  on  Mount  Calvary,  hundreds  of 
years  later.  There,  too,  he  had  his  bitter  experience  with  his 
people  in  the  matter  of  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf,  a  presage 
of  much  that  was  to  follow  in  the  history  of  that  wonderful  but 
stiffnecked  people  as  they  continued  their  journeys  through  the 
wilderness. 

41.  Mark  in  the  life  of  this  wonderful  man  the  incredible  con- 
trast between  his  highest  and  his  lowest  moods.  In  his  agony 
over  the  idolatry  of  his  people  while  he  was  on  the  Mount  receiv- 
ing the  ten  commandments,  Moses  pleads  with  God  for  them, 
and  even  goes  so  far  as  to  beg  that,  if  need  be,  his  own  name 
might  be  blotted  out  of  God's  book.  If  he  or  the  people  must 
perish,  let  it  be  he,  and  not  the  people.  This  is  most  noble, 
and  reminds  one  of  what  Paul  later  on  said,  in  the  same  strain 
(Rom.  9  :  1-3).  Yet  later  on  Moses  yields  to  incomprehensible 
murmuring,  when  the  people  have  again  transgressed.  "Moses 
was  displeased.  And  Moses  said  unto  Jehovah — Have  I  con- 
ceived all  this  people?  .  ,  ,  that  thou  shouldest  say  unto  me, 
Carry  them  in  thy  bosom?  ...  I  am  not  able  to  bear  all  this 
people  alone,  because  it  is  too  heavy  for  me.  And  if  thou  deal 
thus  with  me,  kill  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  hand  "  (Num.  11  :  10- 
15) .  Is  this  the  same  man  who  speaks  in  the  matter  of  the  golden 
calf,  as  we  saw  above?  But  in  this  extraordinary  fall  we  learn 
a  lesson  of  humility  and  self -distrust,  "Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

42.  At  last,  after  forty  years  of  wandering,  Israel  is  on 
the  borders  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  but  on  account  of  his  unad- 


Lesson  5  37 

vised  speech,  Moses  is  not  permitted  to  enter.  On  Mount  Nebo 
he  dies,  alone,  and  there  God  lays  his  body  away  until  the  great 
resurrection  day. 

43.  But  again  we  see  Moses.  This  time  not  outside  of  the 
Land  of  Promise,  but  in  the  midst  of  it.  On  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration  he  appears,  and  this  time  with  Israel's  great 
prophet,  Elijah,  and  with  Israel's  Messiah.  There  they  talk  of  the 
death  so  soon  to  be  accomplished  in  Jerusalem.  Then  he  and 
the  prophet  return  to  the  spirit  world. 

44.  Yet  once  more  Moses  is  brought  to  our  attention.  On 
the  Isle  of  Patmos,  John  in  vision  sees  and  hears  much  of  what 
goes  on  in  the  eternal  world  of  bliss.  And  lo,  he  hears  the  ran- 
somed sing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  (Rev.  15  :  3),  To 
this  man  is  given  the  privilege  accorded  to  none  other  of  the  sons 
of  men,  to  have  his  name  coupled  with  that  of  the  Son  of  God  in 
the  glad  songs  of  heaven.  Truly  a  privilege  so  exalted  that  we 
cannot  possibly  magnify  it  too  much  ! 

Test  Questions 

1.  Into  what  three  divisions  does  Moses'  life  fall? 

2.  State  the  plan  of  God  and  man  in  relation  to  this  babe. 

3.  Give  the  links  in  the  carrying  out  of  God's  plan,  on  the 
birth  of  the  child. 

4.  What  illustration  is  given  to  make  these  links  more  clear? 

5.  What  event  terminated  Moses'  life  at  court? 

6.  How  long  did  his  desert  life  as  shepherd  last? 

7.  What  brought  this  period  of  his  life  to  its  close? 

8.  Give  again  the  conflict  between  the  plan  of  God  and  that 
of  Pharaoh  with  regard  to  the  people. 

9.  Give  the  various  attempts  at  compromise  on  the  part  of 
Pharaoh. 

10.  Where  did  Israel  spend  the  first  year  after  the  Exodus? 

11.  What  two  great  revelations  did  Moses  receive  at  Sinai? 

12.  Give  the  two  instances  of  Moses'  action  that  are  appar 
ently  contradictory  to  each  other. 

13.  Where  did  Moses  die? 

14.  Why  could  he  not  enter  the  Land  of  Promise? 


38  The  Book 


15.  Where  do  we  next  meet  him? 

16.  Give  the  final  mention  of  this  man  in  the  Word. 


Test  Questions  for  Review 
From  the  Introduction  to  Lesson  5 

1 .  Give  the  reasons  why  the  following  periods  are  important : 
Patriarchal;  Mosaic;  of  Elijah  and  Elisha;  of  the  Messiah. 

2.  Name  the  four  periods  in  which  the  narrative  amplifies 
and  miracles  multiply. 

3.  Give  the  extent  of  the  first,  second,  and  third  periods. 

4.  Give  two  divisions  of  period  four. 

5.  What  was  the  cause  of  the  division  of  the  United  Kingdom? 

6.  Give  the  names  of  the  chief  actors  in  the  first  period  of 
Bible  history. 

7.  Name  the  great  characters  of  the  Old  Testament  up  to 
David. 

8.  Who  were  buried  in  the  Cave  of  Machpelah? 

9.  Into  what  two  sections  may  we  divide  Joseph's  life? 

10.  Into  whose  household  did  Joseph  go  in  Egypt? 

11.  What  two  peculiar  facts  may  be  noted  with  regard  to 
Joseph's  body? 

1 2.  State  the  three  divisions  of  Moses'  life. 

13.  Where  did  Israel  spend  the  first  year  after  the  Exodus? 

14.  What  two  great  revelations  did  Moses  receive  at  Sinai? 

15.  Where  did  Moses  die? 


Ivcsson  6 
Joshua  to  Samson 

Old  Testament  Division— Third  Period  (Concluded) 

Conquest  of  Canaan. — Joshua  became  leader  (Josh,  i  :  2). 
Received  command  from  God  (Josh,  i  :  6-9).  Victory  at 
Jericho  (Josh.  6),  followed  by  defeat  at  Ai  (Josh.  7).  Central 
Palestine  conquered,  and  a  great  assemblage  held  at  Shechem 
(Josh.  8  :  30-35).  Southern  and  northern  Palestine  partially 
conquered  (Josh.  10  :  1  to  11).  Joshua's  farewell  (Josh. 
23  to  24  :  27)  and  death  (Josh.  24  :  29-33). 
srael  under  Judges. — Othniel  delivered  the  people  from 
Mesopotamia  (Judg.  3  :  5-1 1).  Ehud  delivered  from  Moab 
(Judg.  3  :  12-30).  Deborah  and  Barak  delivered  from 
Canaanites  (Judg.  4:1  to  5:31).  Terrible  oppression 
under  the  Midianites,  delivery  by  Gideon  (Judg.  6  :  i  to 
7  :  25).  Jephthah  delivered  from  Philistines  and  Ammon- 
ites (Judg.  10  :  6  to  12  :  7).  Samson  delivered  from  Philis- 
tines (Judg.  13  :  I  to  16  :  31). 

TIME.— 1458    B.   C.    to    Samuel, 

PLACE. — Palestine. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS. 
— The  Jewish  nation  under 
Joshua  achieved  success 
just  so  long  as  they  obeyed 
fully  the  commands  of  God. 
The  Judges,  as  leaders,  were 
direct  representatives  of 
God — who  was  the  actual 
head  of  the  nation  —  and 
so  far  as  God's  laws  were 
strictly  obeyed,  the  nation 
prospered. 

Joshua  and  the  Judges 
45.  Joshua  Becomes  Leader. — At  the  death  of  Moses  we  see 
Israel  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jordan,  opposite  Jericho.   Joshua 

39 


1121    B.    C. 


40  The  Book 

succeeds  Moses  as  leader.  To  him  comes  God's  command, 
"Moses,  my  servant,  is  dead;  now  therefore  arise,  go  over  this 
Jordan."  (Josh,  i  :  2.)  Note  here  no  sign  of  discouragement. 
Moses  may  be  dead,  but  God  still  lives,  and  will  work  through 
Joshua  as  well  as  through  Moses.  Notice  in  the  orders  given  by 
God  to  Joshua  that  no  mention  at  all  is  made  of  sword,  spear, 
or  bow,  but  only  of  obedience.  This  is  emphasized  again  and 
again  and  rightly,  for  in  obedience  to  God's  law  lay  Israel's 
hope  (read  Josh,  i  :  6-9). 

46.  Now  follows  the  contest  for  the  possession  of  the  land. 
Jericho  is  taken,  but  at  Ai  defeat  is  experienced,  on  account  of 
disobedience.  So  Israel  learns  a  costly  but  salutary  lesson. 
Then  follows  the  conquest  of  the  central  part  of  Palestine,  ending 
at  Shechem.  Next  in  turn  came  southern  Palestine,  and  then 
the  northern  part  of  the  land  (Josh.  10  :  i  to  11).  Yet  at  the 
close  of  Joshua's  life,  not  all  of  the  land  had  been  taken 
possession  of.  Still  the  heathen  tribes  held  on  in  various  places; 
and,  indeed,  they  were  not  thoroughly  subdued  until  the  time 
of  David. 

47.  Reading  the  Laws  of  Moses. — Worthy  of  note  was  the 
great  assemblage  at  Shechem,  between  the  mountains  of  Ebal 
and  Gerizim,  in  the  very  center  of  the  land,  where  the  law  of 
Moses  was  read,  with  its  blessings  and  curses,  to  all  the  people 
(Josh.  8  :  30-35).  Noteworthy  also  is  the  final  address  of  the 
aged  Joshua  to  his  people,  at  Shechem,  beseeching  them  to  obey 
the  law  of  Moses,  recorded  in  chapter  24. 

48.  The  Period  of  the  Judges.— After  the  death  of  Joshua,  the 
people  seem  to  have  become  more  or  less  disorganized.  The 
tribes  ruled  themselves — at  times  well,  and  at  times  ill.  During 
the  times  of  the  Judges  the  general  trend  of  their  history  was  as 
follows:  Israel  would  fall  into  sin,  and  then  as  a  punishment 
God  allowed  their  foes  whom  they  had  spared  to  rule  over  them. 
Then  in  due  time  Israel  would  "lament  after  the  Lord,"  that  is, 
repent  and  call  on  the  God  of  their  fathers  for  deliverance.  Then 
God  would  allow  them  respite,  and  by  the  hand  of  some  one  of 
the  judges,  whom  he  raised  up,  would  give  them  deliverance 
(see  Judg.  2  :  11-18).  The  chronology  of  the  book  of  Judges 
is  pot  very  clear,  and  it  is  most  probable  that  there  were  times 


Lesson  6  41 

when  the  "oppression"  was  not  felt  over  all  the  land,  but  was 
only  sectional.  Just  the  lines  for  a  right  chronology  are  uncertain. 

49.  Comparison  of  Periods  of  Oppression  and  Deliver- 
ance.— Now  if  we  desire  in  a  general  way  to  judge  as  to  the 
proportion  of  godliness  as  compared  with  idolatry,  that  prevailed 
in  these  times,  we  can  do  so  by  adding  up  the  years  of  "oppres- 
sion" and  those  of  deliverance.  This  will  afford  us  a  rough 
criterion  as  to  the  way  in  which  Israel  obeyed  and  disobeyed 
their  God.  For  remember  that  the  "oppressions"  were  the  result 
of  disobedience,  while  the  "deliverances"  were  the  result  of  true 
repentance.  Worked  out  in  this  way,  we  have  the  following 
statement,  in  which  the  name  stands  for  the  country  to  which  the 
people  were  in  temporary  bondage: 

Mesopotamia,  bondage  8  years, — rest  32  years. 

Moab,  bondage  18  years, — rest  22  years. 

Canaan,  bondage  20  years, — rest  20  years. 

Midian,  bondage  7  years, — rest  32  years. 

Philistia  and  Ammon,   bondage  18  years, — rest  7,   10,  and 

8  years. 
Philistia,  bondage  40  years, — rest  20  years. 

Adding  all  these  up,  we  find  that  the  people  were  in  bondage  in 
whole  or  in  part  for  11 1  years,  while  they  had  "rest"  as  the 
result  of  their  repentance  for  151  years.  Without  pressing  this 
mathematical  calculation  too  far,  we  must  nevertheless  conclude 
that  for  more  than  half  the  time  the  nation  at  large  obeyed  God 
fairly  well. 

50.  Great  Leaders  among  the  Judges. — Deborah  and 
Barak,  who,  by  their  combined  forces  drove  out  the  oppressors 
of  Canaan,  under  Jabin  their  king.  This  man  had  mightily 
oppressed  the  people,  he  having  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron, 
against  which  poor  Israel  could  bring  no  corresponding  force. 
Yet  when  the  Lord's  time  came,  he  was  able  to  overthrow  the 
armies  of  Jabin,  through  the  courage  and  combination  of  the  two 
persons  named.  Then  the  land  had  rest  for  thirty-two  years. 
(For  a  wonderful  setting  of  the  song  of  triumph  that  Deborah 
and  Barak  sang,  let  the  student  turn  to  Professor  Moulton's 
"Literary  Study  of  the  Bible,"  pp.  133-142.) 

51.  After  this  came  the  terrible  oppression  of  the  Midianites, 
who  with  their  camels,  their  flocks,  and  herds  came  on  the  land 


42  The  Book 

like  grasshoppers,  and  ate  up  everything.  Fortunately  this 
oppression  lasted  only  for  seven  years,  otherwise  there  would 
have  been  nothing  left.  The  deliverance  from  the  hosts  of 
Midian  came  through  Gideon,  whose  three  hundred  men  with 
torches  and  trumpets  wrought  havoc  among  the  Midianite  army. 
What  the  three  hundred  at  Thermopylee  were  to  Greece,  that 
this  three  hundred  were  to  the  people  of  Israel. 

52.  Another  terrible  experience  of  Israel  was  that  which 
came  to  them  in  connection  with  their  oldtime  foes,  the  Philis- 
tines and  the  Ammonites.  Study  the  story  as  told  in  Judges 
lo  :  6-18,  together  with  the  narrative  of  their  deliverance  under 
Jephthah.  Here  the  student  will  see  clearly  set  forth  the  cause 
of  the  "oppression, "  verses  6-9,  and  the  cause  of  the  deliverance, 
verses  10-18.  Jephthah  was  a  rude  man  of  his  times,  but  then 
we  must  realize  that  rude  times  call  for  violent  men. 

53.  The  only  other  case  to  which  attention  is  called  is  that 
of  the  longest  of  all  the  periods  of  oppression,  —  the  second 
under  the  Philistines,  which  lasted  forty  years.  Here  it  was 
Samson  who  was  to  deliver  the  people  from  the  iron  hand  of  the 
Philistines,  and  it  took  the  iron  hand  of  a  Samson  to  do  the  work. 

54.  Not  a  Time  of  National  Unity. — During  all  these  many 
years,  the  government  of  the  people  was  largely  that  of  the 
tribal  leaders.  There  was  not  the  national  unity  that  we  saw  in 
the  days  of  their  two  great  leaders,  Moses  and  Joshua.  Nor  waj 
there  the  same  unity  of  action  that  came  later  on  under  the  kings. 
But  none  the  less,  the  great  need  of  the  people  during  these 
years  was  not  so  much  political  as  religious.  Had  they  only 
obeyed  the  commands  of  God  as  given  to  Moses,  and  as  reiterated 
by  the  angel  of  the  Lord  to  Joshua,  God  would  not  have  permitted 
them  to  be  ground  under  the  heel  of  their  oppressors  as  they 
were.  We  fail  to  read  the  story  aright  unless  we  seize  the  truth 
that  righteousness  exalts  a  people,  while  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any 
nation.  This  truth  has  its  modern  as  well  as  its  ancient  applica- 
tion. 


Lesson  6  43 

Test  Questions 

1.  Where  was  Israel  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Moses? 

2.  Whom  did  God  appoint  to  be  Moses'  successor? 

3.  What  peculiarity  was  there  in  God's  directions  to  Joshua? 

4.  In  what  order  were  the  different  parts  of  the  land  con- 
quered? 

5.  Tell  of  the  great  assembly  at  Shechem. 

6.  What  was  the  general  trend  of  the  history  of  Israel  during 
the  times  of  the  Judges? 

7.  What  was  the  cause  of  each  period  of  "oppression"? 

8.  What  was  the  cause  of  each  "deliverance"? 

9.  Give  the  proportion  of  the  years  of  "oppression"  and  those 
of  "rest." 

10.  Give  the  first  two  leaders  named  as  deliverers. 

11.  Who  brought  relief  from  the  oppression  of  Midian? 

12.  Who  delivered  the  people  from  the  first  Philistine  bondage? 

13.  Who  did  the  same  thing  in  the  case  of  the  second  Philis- 
tine bondage? 

14.  What  was  the  condition  of  the  people  politically  during 
the  period  of  the  rule  of  the  Judges? 


Lesson  7 


Saul  to  Solomon 

Old  Testament  Division— Fourth  Period 

LEADING   PERSONS 

Samuel. — The   connecting  link   between   the   times   of   the 

Judges  and  of  the  kings  (i  Sam.  1-8). 
Saul. — First  king,  who  made  a  good  beginning  (i  Sam.  10  :  i- 

27).       He    united    the    people,    breaking    down    factions. 

Spurned  Samuel's  advice  (i   Sam.    15  :  1-35).     He  became 

jealous  of  David,  and  angered  at  his  own  son,  Jonathan 

(i   Sam.    18  :  8    to    19  :  11).       Rejected  by   God  as  king 

(i  Sam.  15).  Killed  in  battle  at  Gil  boa  (i  Sam.  31:  1-13). 
David. — A  shepherd    boy,    noted   for  bravery  (i  Sam.    16- 

31).     Chosen    king    and    ruled    over   Judah    seven    years 

(2  Sam.  2).     Then  became  king  over  all  Israel,  and  greatly 

enlarged  the  nation's  borders.     Made  Jerusalem  the  capital 

(2  Sam.   5  :  6-9).      A  great    religious  leader  and  composer 

of  Psalms.     Sinned  against  Uriah  (2  Sam.  11  :  i  to  12  :  14). 

His  son  Absalom  rebelled  (2  Sam.  15  to  18). 
Solomon. — Son   of    David.     Began    his   reign    with    a   wise 

choice  (i  Kings  3).    Built  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem  (i  Kings 

5).    Sinned  in  his  marriages  (i  Kings  11).     He  was  noted 

for  his   great   wisdom    and 

riches.     He  lived  in  luxury, 

the    people    were    heavily 

taxed,     and    the     outward 

prosperity  was  accompanied 

by  inward    spiritual  decay. 

See    Samuel's   warning    in 

I  Samuel  8  :  1-18. 
Other  Persons. — Goliath,  the 

Philistine  giant,  whom  David 

slew. — Jonathan,  Saul's  son, 

a  great  friend  of  David. 
PLACES.— Mizpeh,  Socoh,  Gilboa,  Jerusalem. 

44 


Lesson  7  45 

TIME.— 1 121  B.  C.  to  983  B.  C. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— David's  reign  as  king  brought 
the  people  to  the  place  of  their  greatest  national  success,  and 
David's  reign  and  that  of  Solomon  were  politically  the  best 
in  all  Israel's  history.  David  was  signally  honored  in  be- 
coming an  ancestor  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus. 

The  United  Kingdom.     Saul,  David,  Solomon 

55.  Israel  Asks  for  a  King. — Ostensibly  because  Samuel's 
sons  were  worthless  men,  but  also  and  largely  because  they 
wished  to  be  "like  the  nations  around  them,"  Israel  asked  the 
prophet  Samuel  to  appoint  a  king  over  them.  This  Samuel  was 
reluctant  to  do.  But  commanded  by  God  to  acquiesce,  he 
anointed  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  to  be  king  over  Israel.  That 
God  did  not  consider  the  change  from  government  by  judges  to 
government  by  kings  to  be  an  improvement,  is  apparent  from  his 
saying,  "they  have  rejected  me,  that  I  should  not  be  king  over 
them"  (i  Sam.  8:7). 

56.  The  First  King,  Saul. — Saul  found  the  nation  somewhat 
disorganized,  and  split  into  many  factions.  His  task  was  to 
unite  the  people,  so  that  they  could  show  a  bold  and  successful 
front  against  their  foes.  Prominent  among  these  foes  were  the 
Philistines,  who  lived  on  the  southwest  of  Israel,  and  who  were 
a  courageous  and  persistent  folk.  In  all  this  work  Saul  was 
somewhat  successful.  He  began  well,  but  before  very  long, 
owing  to  self-will,  he  swerved  aside  from  the  advice  of  the  aged 
Samuel.  During  his  reign  the  great  war  with  the  Philistines 
took  place  in  which  Goliath  and  David  figured  so  dramatically 
(i  Sam.  17). 

57.  Saul's  evil  disposition  grew  worse  and  worse,  showing 
itself  in  his  twice-repeated  effort  to  kill  David  and  his  one  effort 
to  kill  his  own  son  Jonathan  for  his  friendship  for  David  (see 
I  Sam.  18  :  10,  11 ;  19:  10;  20  :  32,  33).  On  account  of  his  distinct 
disobedience  to  God's  command,  and  his  hypocrisy,  God  rejected 
him  from  being  king  (i  Sam.  15).  Still  Saul  continued  to  rule 
for  some  years.  Then  came  the  end  when,  in  battle  with  his  old 
foes,  the  Philistines,  Saul  and  his  sons  fell,  near  Mount  Gilboa 


46  The  Book 

(i  Sam.  31).  He  ruled  about  forty  years,  and  was  a  sad  instance 
of  a  man  who  began  well,  who  had  a  superb  counselor  in  Samuel, 
but  who,  through  self-will  and  disobedience,  perished  at  last 
most  miserably. 

58.  David  Becomes  King. — After  the  death  of  Saul,  Judah 
turned  to  David  as  its  rightful  leader  and  king.  He  was  therefore 
anointed  at  Hebron  as  king  of  Judah.  Seven  years  later  the 
remainder  of  the  tribes  came  to  him  and  asked  him  to  rule  over 
them.  This  he  did,  and  in  this  way  he  was  king  over  all  Israel  for 
thirty- three  years.  His  remarkable  character  and  executive 
ability  soon  showed  itself.  His  reign  was  most  successful,  and 
he  enlarged  the  bounds  of  the  kingdom  to  their  utmost  extent. 
It  extended  from  the  Red  Sea  and  Egypt  to  the  Euphrates,  as 
promised  by  God  (Gen.  15  :  18  and  Josh.  1:4).  He  captured 
Jerusalem  and  made  it  the  political  and  the  religious  capital  of 
the  nation  (2  Sam.  5  :  6-9).  Thither  he  brought  up  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant,  and  here  he  established  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 
He  organized  the  whole  of  the  ritual  of  worship,  and  formed 
choirs  of  singers  to  make  a  glad  noise  unto  the  Lord.  Every- 
where he  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  and  made  the  name  of 
Israel  one  to  be  feared  by  the  surrounding  nations.  Thus  to  the 
Israelite  both  of  his  day  and  of  subsequent  centuries  he  became 
their  ideal  king. 

59.  His  later  life  was  saddened  by  his  own  sin  in  the  matter 
of  Uriah  and  Bathsheba,  where  he  erred  most  grievously.  In 
recalling  this  sin,  and  in  condemning  the  king  for  it,  we  must  also 
bear  in  mind  his  true  repentance,  and  also  recognize  that  in  his 
time  there  was  no  king  who  would  have  thought  it  worth  while 
to  give  a  second  thought  to  the  whole  matter  (see  2  Sam.  1 1  :  i- 
12  :  14). 

60.  The  Rebellion  of  Absalom.— -The  end  of  David's  life 
was  further  embittered  by  the  rebellion  of  his  favorite  son, 
Absalom.  This  nearly  brought  David  to  a  violent  death.  Only 
the  indomitable  spirit  that  the  king  possessed,  together  with 
the  ability  of  his  chief  general  Joab,  saved  the  day  (2  Sam. 
15-18).  David  was  Israel's  sweet  singer.  He  composed  many 
Psalms,  which  have  come  down  to  us  as  specimens  of  his  poetic 
ability.     (The  writer  is,  of  course,  aware  that  some  modern  critics 


Lesson  7  47 

deny  that  any  of  the  Psalms  are  by  David,  but  he  has  never 
seen  any  conclusive  proof  of  this.) 

61.  In  general,  until  his  later  years,  when  too  much  prosperity 
had  dulled  his  spiritual  life,  David's  character  was  singularly 
pure  and  unselfish.  His  dealings  with  Saul  while  the  latter  was 
seeking  his  life  show  a  most  chivalrous  spirit,  in  that  twice  he 
spared  his  enemy's  life  when  he  had  him  in  his  power  (i  Sam, 
24  :  1-22;  26  :  1-25).  In  his  friendship  for  Jonathan  he  shows 
an  affection  which,  reciprocated  by  Jonathan,  constitutes  one  of 
the  classic  friendships  of  history.  Taken  all  in  all,  and  remem- 
bering the  times  in  which  he  lived,  David  was  perhaps  the  finest 
king  that  the  world  ever  saw. 

62.  Solomon. — On  David's  death  his  son  Solomon  ascended 
the  throne.  Bathsheba  was  his  mother.  He  began  his  reign 
well.  When  God  gave  him  his  choice  between  riches  and  wisdom, 
he  chose  the  latter  (i  Kings  3:5-15).  He  it  was  who  carried  out 
David's  plan  for  a  "magnifical"  temple  in  Jerusalem,  where 
he  built  the  most  splendid  temple  that  the  world  had  so  far  seen. 
His  prayer  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple  is  a  most  remarkable 
one  (i  Kings  8).  His  fame  spread  through  the  world,  and  on  one 
occasion  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  in  Arabia,  journeyed  over  one 
thousand  miles  to  make  him  a  visit.  Her  astonishment  at  what 
she  saw  and  heard  in  Jerusalem  is  told  in  i  Kings  10.  In  amaze- 
ment she  cries  out,  "Howbeit  I  believed  not  the  words,  until  I 
came,  and  mine  eyes  had  seen  it:  and,  behold,  the  half  was  not 
told  me;  thy  wisdom  and  prosperity  exceed  the  fame  which  I 
heard." 

63.  But  alas!  Solomon  did  not  continue  as  well  as  he  began. 
To  enhance  his  glory  and  extend  his  political  power,  he  made 
alliances  with  idolatrous  sovereigns.  He  married  the  daughter 
of  Pharaoh,  and  besides  this  had  multitudes  of  wives,  who  led 
his  heart  astray  (i  Kings  11  :  1-8).  God's  warning,  given  in 
the  same  chapter,  seems  to  have  been  disregarded. 

64.  Samuel's  Warnings  come  True. — In  Solomon  all  the 
warnings  of  Samuel  as  to  what  would  come  on  the  nation  if  they 
persisted  in  their  choice  of  a  king  were  fulfilled  (i  Sam.  8  :  1-18). 
He  also  disregarded  what  God  had  said  through  the  mouth  of 
Moses,  as  recorded  in  Deuteronomy  17  •  14-20.     He  multiplied 


48  The  Book 

taxes  to  such  a  degree  that  the  people  were  not  able  to  bear 
them.  His  court  life  was  most  luxurious  and  enervating,  and 
the  demands  of  his  wives  for  all  manner  of  indulgences  were 
continuous.  In  this  way,  though  there  was  much  outward 
prosperity,  the  seeds  of  decay  were  sown  with  prodigal  hands. 
Of  course  the  end  of  such  a  policy  could  be  only  disaster,  though 
the  king  in  his  mad  search  after  power  and  luxury  failed  to  see  the 
approaching  storm.  However  wise  he  may  have  been,  as  shown 
in  his  proverbs,  he  lacked  that  practical  wisdom  which  begins 
in  the  fear  of  God.  He  went  steadily  down  hill,  and  only  his 
fame,  and  his  reputation  as  being  the  son  of  David,  saved  him 
from  overthrow.  But  immediately  on  his  death  the  consequences 
of  his  misrule  showed  themselves  in  a  most  pronounced  way,  in 
the  disruption  of  the  kingdom.  Like  Saul  and  David,  he  also 
ruled  over  Israel  for  forty  years. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  ostensible  reason  did  the  Israelites  give  for  asking 
for  a  king? 

2.  What  other  and  truer  reason  did  they  urge? 

3.  What  had  God  to  say  about  this  request  of  the  people? 

4.  What  good  did  Saul  accomplish? 

5.  Why  was  Saul  rejected  by  God  from  being  king? 

6.  How  did  Saul  come  to  his  end? 

7.  Over  what  tribe  did  David  rule  alone  for  seven  years? 

8.  Give  the  boundaries  of  David's  kingdom  at  its  largest. 

9.  What  did  David  do  for  the  establishment  of  religion,  and 
in  what  city? 

10.  Into  what  bitter  sin  did  David  fall? 

11.  What  great  sorrow  came  to  David  toward  the  close  of  his  life? 

1 2.  In  general,  what  may  we  say  of  David's  religious  life  at 
the  beginning  and  the  close  of  his  career? 

13.  How  did  Solomon  begin  his  reign? 

14.  What  noted  building  did  he  erect  in  Jerusalem? 

15.  In  what  way  did  Solomon  sin  in  his  alliances  with  other 
kings? 

16.  Where  had  God   given  directions  as  to  what  course  of 
action  any  king  of  his  people  should  pursue? 


Lesson  8 


Rehoboam  to  Hoshea 

Old  Testament  Division— Fourth  Period  (Continued) 

LEADING   PERSONS 

Rehoboam. — Ascended    the   throne   on    death    of    Solomon, 
his  father.     Rejected  wise  counsel  and  angered  his  subjects 
(i  Kings  12  :  1-20). 
Israel,  the  Northern  Kingdom. 

Jeroboam  I. — Set  up  as  king  by  the  ten  tribes  in  revolt 
(Israel,  or  the  Northern  Kingdom),  erected  two  golden  calves 
for  worship   (i  Kings   12  :  25-33). 

Ahab. — Followed  Omri  as  ruler  of  Northern  Kingdom  (i  Kings 
16  :  28).  Married  Jezebel,  who  established  a  heathen 
worship  (i  Kings  16  :  31). 

Elijah  and  Elisha. — Prophets  of  God,  sent  to  stay  the 
wickedness  of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  Elijah  enters 
remarkable  contest  with  Ahab  (i  Kings  17  :  i  to  18  :46. 
See  also  i  Kings  21).  For  elaboration  of  this  story  see 
Lesson  10. 

Jehu. — Ruler  of  the  nation; 
tried  to^abolish  Baal  wor- 
ship (2  Kings  9,  10).  His 
reforms  partially  successful. 
His  son  Jehoahaz  continued 
in  gross  idolatry  (2  Kings  1 3 : 
2-9). 

Jeroboam  II. — Ruler  of  the 
Northern  Kingdom.  His 
reign  marked  by  great  out- 
ward prosperity,  but  contin- 
ued inward  decay  (2  Kings 
14:  24).  The  time  of  the  pro- 
phecy of  Amos  (read  the 
whole  book)  and  of  Hosea. 

Hoshea. — Last   of   the    kings.      Samaria    captiu-ed   by   the 
4  49 


50  The  Book 

King  of  Ass3rria,  and  Israel  taken  captive.     Read  2  Kings 
17  :  1-41. 
Shalmaneser.— The  Assyrian  king. 

TIME.— 982  B.  C.  to  718  B.  C. 

PLACES.— Shechem,  Bethel,  Dan,  Mt.  Carmel,  Jezreel,  Horeb, 
Samaria,  Cherith,  Zarephath. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— God's  unceasing  efforts  to  save 
his  people  from  their  sins  are  marked  by  the  sending  of 
prophets,  like  Elijah  and  EHsha,  at  a  time  when  wicked 
kings  had  led  the  people  into  abominable  idolatry. 

The  Divided  Kingdom.      Israel,  or  the  Northern   Kingdom 

65.  Rehoboam  Becomes  King. — After  the  death  of  Solomon 
his  son  Rehoboam  ascended  the  throne.  At  once  there  came  to 
him  a  delegation  headed  by  Jeroboam,  asking  for  relief  from  the 
intolerable  taxation  that  Solomon  had  levied.  Rehoboam, 
guided  by  the  foolish  counsel  of  his  hot-headed  young  men, 
replied  roughly,  saying,  "my  little  finger  is  thicker  than  my 
father's  loins"  (i  Kings  12  :  1-20).  At  once  the  men  of  Israel 
revolted,  and  set  up  Jeroboam  to  be  their  king.  From  that  time 
on,  to  the  end,  the  kingdom  was  divided,  and  many  times  the 
one  part  was  antagonistic  to  the  other. 

66.  The  Northern  Kingdom. — Jeroboam  as  its  first  king, 
fearing  that  if  the  religion  of  the  two  peoples  remained  sub- 
stantially the  same,  and  if  his  people  went  regularly  to  Jerusalem, 
the  capital  of  the  Southern  Kingdom,  to  worship,  they  would  be 
alienated  from  him,  devised  a  system  of  calf  worship,  and  set 
up  two  golden  calves,  the  one  at  Bethel,  just  over  the  border  of 
Judah,  and  the  other  at  Dan,  in  the  extreme  north  of  his  domain. 
To  these  two  centers  of  worship  he  invited  his  people  to  resort, 
in  order  to  keep  them  from  assembling  with  the  men  of  Judah 
in  Jerusalem.  "It  is  too  much  for  you,"  he  said,  "to  go  so  far 
as  to  Jerusalem;  behold  your  gods  right  in  your  midst"  (i  Kings 
12  :  25-33).  All  this  he  did  in  utter  defiance  of  God's  command, 
"Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,"  and  in 
spite  of  the  bitter  experience  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  in  the 
matter  of  the  golden  calf  that  Aaron  made. 


Lesson  8  51 

67.  This  action  on  the  part  of  Jeroboam  "set  the  pace"  for 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  from  that  day  to  the  end  of  their 
history  the  land  was  full  of  gross  idolatry.  Not  that  all  the 
men  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  refused  to  follow  Jehovah,  for  this 
was  not  the  case,  but  the  rulers  were  leaders  in  one  form  or 
another  of  idolatry. 

68.  Ahab  and  Jezebel.— In  925  B.  C.  Ahab  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  He  married  Jezebel,  the 
daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king  of  the  Sidonians,  a  most  masterful 
and  wicked  woman.  She  led  her  husband  to  establish  the 
worship  of  Baal  and  Ashtoreth,  nature  divinities,  whose  worship 
was  connected  with  most  abhorrent  practises.  Not  only  so,  but 
between  them  they  did  their  best  to  root  out  all  those  who 
persisted  in  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Abraham.  They  per- 
secuted the  sons  of  the  prophets,  and  put  them  to  the  sword. 
It  was  now  no  longer  safe  to  try,  even  in  secret,  to  worship  the 
God  of  truth. 

69.  Elijah  and  Elisha. — It  was  just  at  this  time  that  God  in 
his  mercy  sent  two  very  great  prophets  to  Israel  to  try  to  win 
them  back  to  their  allegiance  to  the  God  of  Moses  and  the  Patri- 
archs. This,  the  student  wHl  remember,  was  one  of  those  periods 
which  was  mentioned  in  the  introduction,  in  which  the  narrative 
is  amplified  and  the  miracle  multiplied,  as  betokening  that  the 
period  was  of  great  importance.  Elijah  and  his  successor, 
Elisha,  did  their  best  to  stay  the  downward  tendency  of  their 
people,  but  quite  largely  in  vain.  For  a  while  it  seemed  as 
though  there  was  to  be  some  real  reformation.  But  it  did  not 
last  long,  and  soon  the  people,  led  astray  by  their  rulers,  lapsed 
into  idolatry  once  more. 

70.  Jehu. — The  one  bright  spot  in  all  this  sad  story  of  the 
decline  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  is  found  in  the  story  of  Jehu, 
891  B.  C.  (2  Kings  9,  10.)  He  dealt  drastically  with  the 
worshipers  of  Baal,  and  tried  his  best  to  put  a  final  stop  to  all 
Baal  worship.  He  ruled  about  twenty-eight  years.  His  son 
Jehoahaz  continued  the  sin  of  calf  worship,  and  led  his  people 
once  more  into  the  downward  path. 

71.  Under  Jeroboam  the  Second  the  Northern  Kingdom 
attained  much  outward  prosperity,  but  its  spiritual  life  did  not 


52  The  Book 

improve  at  all.  Men  became  greedy  of  gain,  and  worldliness 
and  sin  of  gross  description  gained  tlie  upper  liand.  It  was  possibly 
during  this  reign  that  God  sent  the  prophet  Amos  to  bear  witness 
against  the  sins  of  the  rulers  and  people.  At  this  point  read  the 
prophecy  of  Amos,  and  try  to  realize  how  earnestly  he  pleaded 
with  the  men  of  Israel  to  return  to  the  worship  of  the  God  of 
their  fathers.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  Israel  was  joined  to  his 
idols. 

72.  Hosea,  too,  comes  at  about  this  same  time,  and  he  did 
his  best  to  win  Israel  back  from  their  apostasy.  He  has  well 
been  called  the  "pleading  prophet,"  for  his  tenderness  is  most 
touching.  Yet  all  in  vain  were  his  pleas.  Israel  would  have 
none  of  them. 

73.  Hoshea,  Last  of  the  Kings. — At  last  the  Divine  patience 
seems  to  have  been  exhausted,  and  God  gave  the  Northern 
Kingdom  over  into  the  hands  of  its  enemies,  and  they  were 
marched  ofT  into  captivity.  Hoshea  is  the  last  of  the  kings  of 
Israel,  and  during  his  rule  the  King  of  Assyria  captured  Samaria, 
and  led  the  people  off  into  a  strange  land.  Here  let  the  student 
carefully  read  2  Kings  17  :  1-41  to  see  the  r^sum^  that  the  sacred 
writer  gives  of  the  reasons  for  the  final  catastrophe  that  befell 
Israel.  It  was  on  account  of  their  sins  that  they  were  suffered 
to  experience  these  dire  disasters. 

74.  In  the  place  of  the  deported  people,  the  Assyrians,  in 
accordance  with  the  customs  of  those  days,  placed  peoples  from 
alien  lands  in  their  stead.  In  this  manner  the  population  of 
Samaria  became  much  mixed,  and  the  false  worship  of  these 
idolatrous  peoples  became  the  religion  of  the  land  of  the  Patri- 
archs in  its  northern  portion.  This  will  account  for  the  hostility 
between  Jew  and  Samaritan  which  we  find  in  the  days  of  Nehe- 
miah,  and  even  as  late  as  the  times  of  our  Lord. 

Test  Questions 

I.  What  led  to  the  disruption  of  the  United  Kingdom? 

2    Who  was  chosen  king  over  Israel,  or  the  Northern  Kingdom? 

3.  Of  what  was  Jeroboam  afraid  at  this  time? 

4.  What  did  he  do  to  hold  his  people  from  possible  allegiance 
with  Judah? 


Lesson  8  53 

5.  Where  were  the  golden  calves  set  up? 

6.  Whom  did  Ahab  marry? 

7.  What  innovation  in  matters  religious  did  Jezebel  intro- 
duce? 

8.  How  did  she  treat  those  who  desired  to  worship  Jehovah? 

9.  What  two  great  prophets  did  God  send   to  Israel  at  this 
time? 

10.  Was  the  mission  of  Elijah  and  his  successor  permanently 
effective? 

11.  How  did  the  kingdom  fare  under  Jeroboam  II? 

12.  Was  religion  any  better  off  for  this  prosperity? 

13.  Name  two  prophets  whom  God  sent  at  this  time  to  try  to 
win  his  people  back  to  himself. 

14.  Were  these  two  prophets  successful? 

15.  Under  what  king  was  Israel  at  last  carried  into  captivity? 

16.  Who  were  placed  in  the  land  of  Israel  to  take  the  place  of 
the  deported  captives? 

17.  What  was  the  result  of  this  mingling  of  races  and  religions? 


Lesson  9 


Abijam  to  Zedekiah 

Old  Testament  Division— Fourth  Period  (Continued) 


Reigned  three  years  (i  Kings 


LEADING   PERSONS 

Abijam. — Son  of  Rehoboam. 

15  :  1-8). 
Asa. — Son   of    Abijam.      Reigned   forty-one  years  (i  Kings 

15  :9-24).     Made  some  effort  as  a  reformer. 
Jehoshaphat. — Son  of  Asa.     Brought  Judah  great  success 

(2  Chron.  17  :  i  to  20  :  37). 
Jehoram. — Did  evil  like  unto  Ahab  (2  Chron.  21  :  6).  Ahaziah 

followed   (2  Chron.   22:4)    and "^was  succeeded  by  Queen 

Athaliah,  worse  than  her  predecessors   (2  Chron.   22:  10  to 

23  :  15). 
Joash  was  a  very  good  ruler ;  he  began  his  reign  at  seven  years 

of  age.     Repaired  the  Temple  (2  Chron.  24  :  1-27). 
Amaziah,   Uzziah,   Jotham. — Not  remarkable  in  any  way 

(2  Chron.  25  :  i  to  27  :  9). 
Abaz. — An  evil  king;  caused  his  children  to  pass  through  the 

fire  to  idols  (2  Chron.  28  13). 
Hezekiah    was    the    best    king    so  far    (2  Chron.     29  :  i  to 

32  :  33).     Isaiah    was    influential    and    the    Passover    was 

restored. 
Manasseh  was  the  worst  king 

in  many  ways,  putting  an 

idol  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  (2 

Chron.  33:  1-20;  2  Kings  21 : 

1-18). 
Josiah  was  a  good  ruler,  begin- 
ning at  eight  years  of  age. 

The  Temple   was  repaired, 

the    Law    was    read,     and 

reform   was  established    (2 

Kings  22  :  I  to  23  :  30). 
Zedekiah.  —  After      Josiah's 

54 


Lesson  9  55 

reign  matters  grew  worse  until  under  Zedekiah  captivity- 
came  (2  Kings  25  :  1-21). 

Outside  Nations  that  played    their  part  in  this  catastrophe 
were  Assyria,  Babylon,  Syria,  Egypt. 

TIME.— 966  B.  C.  to  588  B.  C. 

PLACES, — Judah,  Jerusalem,  Babylonia. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— The  influence  of  leadership 
is  shown  in  a  marked  degree  in  the  history  of  Judah;  "like 
king,  like  people."  It  was  many  times  demonstrated  that 
one  good  man  could  turn  the  whole  nation  God-ward.  At 
last,  as  in  the  case  of  Israel,  Judah  is  given  into  captivity. 

The  Divided  Kingdom.    Judah,  the  Southern  Kingdom 

75.  The  Kingdom  of  Judah  lasted  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years  longer  than  that  of  Israel.  This  was  largely  owing  to  the 
greater  loyalty  of  Judah  to  the  law  of  God.  Nevertheless  even 
under  the  rule  of  Rehoboam,  their  first  king,  Judah  showed  an 
evil  tendency  to  depart  from  the  law  of  God  (i  Kings  14  :  21-24). 
There  is  no  record,  however,  that  Rehoboam  officially  tried  to 
influence  the  people  toward  idolatry,  as  did  Jeroboam.  Probably 
the  very  fact  that  the  temple  was  in  the  capital  of  Judah  held 
him  and  the  people,  in  some  measure  at  least,  to  the  right  manner 
of  worship.  Abijam,  Rehoboam's  son,  followed  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  father.  But  his  son,  Asa,  was  a  much  better  man,  and 
he  made  efforts  at  reform.  Though  he  was  not  sufficiently 
radical  in  his  work,  he  was  a  great  improvement  on  his  pre- 
decessors, 

76.  Under  Jehoshaphat  Judah  reached  the  height  of  her 
power.  "He  walked  in  the  first  ways  of  his  father  David,  and 
sought  not  unto  the  Baalim"  (2  Chron.  17  to  20:37.  Also 
I  Kings  22  :  41-50). 

77.  Once  more,  under  Joash,  Judah  enjoyed  a  sovereign  who 
had  in  him  much  of  godliness.  He  repaired  the  temple  and 
did  much  to  restore  the  true  worship  of  God. 


56  The  Book 

78.  After  a  period  of  varying  vicissitudes  we  find  Ahaz  on 
the  throne  of  Judah.  He  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,  and  caused  his  son  to  pass  through  the  fire,  i.  e.,  he 
sacrificed  him  to  heathen  idols.  He  introduced  calf  worship, 
and  set  up  "high  places,"  for  false  worship  on  every  hill  and 
under  every  green  tree  (2  Kings  16  :  1-4).  Had  it  not  been 
that  his  son  Hezekiah  was  more  godly  than  he,  the  doom  of 
Judah  might  have  been  much  hastened.  During  his  reign  Israel 
was  carried  captive. 

79.  Under  Hezekiah,  however,  we  see  great  reforms  going  on. 
He  removed  the  high  places,  cut  down  the  ashera,  and  even 
brake  in  pieces  the  brazen  serpent  that  Moses  had  made,  for  to 
it  the  people  had  been  offering  incense  (2  Kings  18  :  1-8).  He 
was  the  best  of  all  the  kings  of  Judah,  and  had  his  successors 
followed  in  his  footsteps  there  need  have  been  no  captivity  of 
Judah  to  record.  In  his  reign  it  was  that  God  gave  Judah  signal 
deliverance  from  the  hosts  of  Sennacherib. 

80.  Alas!  that  so  godly  a  king  should  have  been  followed  by 
so  worthless  a  man  as  his  son  Manasseh.  He  was  perhaps  the 
very  worst  of  all  the  kings  of  Judah.  Now  we  see  the  high  places 
rebuilt,  and  idolatrous  altars  to  Baal  established.  But  more  than 
this.  He  went  farther  than  any  before  him,  in  that  he  took  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant  out  of  the  Most  Holy  Place,  and  put  there 
a  graven  image.  So  the  record  says  that  Manasseh  did  more  to 
seduce  the  people  to  sin  than  all  the  nations  whom  the  Lord 
removed  to  make  place  for  his  people.  Truly  a  dreadful  record 
for  one  who  sat  on  the  throne  of  David. 

81.  Once  more  the  people  have  respite,  however,  for  Josiah, 
Manasseh' s  grandson,  was  a  very  different  type.  He  was  only 
eight  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign,  but  he  tried  to  do  that 
which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  God.  The  deserted  temple  was 
repaired,  the  law  was  discovered  and  studied,  the  Covenant  was 
publicly  renewed,  the  idol  in  the  Most  Holy  Place  was  taken  away, 
and  burned  with  fire,  and  the  high  places  were  largely 
destroyed.  Moreover,  he  broke  down  the  altar  at  Bethel 
that  Jeroboam  had  originally  erected.  He  re-established  the 
celebration  of  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  which  had  long  been 
neglected.     His  efforts  at  reform  were  extended  even  to  the 


Lesson  9  57 

dominions  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  though  with  no  permanent 
efifect  (see  for  all  this  2  Chron.  34,  35,  and  2  Kings  22  :  i  to  23  :  28). 

82.  From  the  time  of  the  death  of  Josiah,  the  downward 
tendency  of  Judah  was  steadfast.  At  last  the  end,  long  delayed 
through  the  mercy  of  God,  came,  and  under  Jehoiachin  the 
overthrow  was  complete,  and  under  his  son  Jehoiakim  Judah 
was  marched  off  in  captivity  to  the  land  of  Babylon.  Thus 
sadly  was  fulfilled  all  that  God  had  warned  his  people  of,  and 
the  day  of  retribution  came  just  as  predicted. 

83.  Other  Nations. — In  all  this  sad  drama  of  course  outside 
nations  played  a  prominent  part.  Assyria,  Babylon,  Syria, 
Egypt,  all  come  into  view.  But  none  of  them  could  have  wrought 
the  havoc  that  they  did  had  it  not  been  for  the  recreant  part  that 
Israel  on  the  north  and  Judah  on  the  south  played.  He  who 
brought  them  all  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand  and  an 
outstretched  arm  could  and  would  have  delivered  them  from 
all  their  foes  had  they  been  loyal  to  him.  All  the  blessings  of 
Deuteronomy  28  :  1-14  might  have  been  theirs  had  they  only 
hearkened  to  the  commandments  of  God  by  the  mouth  of  his 
servant  Moses.  But  as  it  was,  all  the  dreadful  curses  of  Deuter- 
onomy 28  :  15-68  (be  sure  to  read  these  passages)  came  on  them, 
and  all  on  account  of  their  idolatry  and  vileness. 

84.  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah. — Nor  did  the  kings  and  people  sin 
thus  grievously  because  they  had  no  prophets  to  warn  them. 
Just  as  God  sent  Elijah,  Elisha,  Amos,  and  Hosea  to  warn  and 
woo  the  Northern  Kingdom,  so  he  sent  the  great  Isaiah  and 
Jeremiah  to  warn  the  men  of  the  Southern  Kingdom.  Plainer 
warnings,  grander  promises,  better  counsels  than  these  prophets 
gave,  have  never  been  uttered  by  human  lips.  For  about  sixty 
years,  beginning  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah,  Isaiah  pleaded  with  the 
nation.  He  lived  and  prophesied  during  the  reigns  of  Uzziah, 
Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  and  all  through  these  days  he  was 
faithful  to  his  mission.  Sometimes  he  was  heeded,  and  some- 
times he  was  scoffed  at,  but  ever  and  always  he  was  faithful. 
So  too  was  Jeremiah,  whom  nothing  could  turn  from  the  integrity 
of  his  course.  For  the  most  part  mocked  at,  traduced  and 
ridiculed  by  the  leaders,  these  men  were  helpless,  for  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  rulers  and  people  were  set  on  mischief.     But 


58  The  Book 

though  hand  joined  in  hand,  evil  was  sure  not  to  go  unpunished, 
and  so  the  end  came, 

85.  Captivity. — What  a  contrast  between  Israel  marching 
triumphantly  into  the  land,  and  Israel  (and  later  on,  Judah) 
marching  out  of  the  land  in  chains  and  humiliation!  Through 
faith  they  conquered  Jericho,  and  through  lack  of  faith  they 
themselves  were  at  last  conquered,  and  taken  off  into  a  land  of 
shame  and  sorrow. 

Test  Questions 

1.  How  long  did  the  Kingdom  of  Judah  last? 

2.  How  much  longer  did  it  last  than  the  Kingdom  of  Israel? 

3.  What  reason  may  we  assign  for  this? 

4.  Under  what  king  did  Judah  reach  the  maximum  of  her 
power? 

5.  Name  the  next  king  who  ruled  the  nation  in  the  fear  of 
God. 

6.  How  did  Ahaz  provoke  the  Lord  to  anger  especially? 

7.  Who  was  probably  the  best  of  all  the  kings  of  Judah? 

8.  How  did  the  son  of  Hezekiah  act  when  he  came  to  the 
throne? 

9.  What  particularly  evil  deed  did  he  do  in  connection  with 
the  temple? 

10.  Under  what  king  did  Judah  enjoy  great  reforms? 

11.  How  far  did  Josiah  try  to  extend  his  reforms? 

1 2.  Name  some  of  the  nations  who  opposed  Israel  and  Judah  ? 

13.  Would  these  nations  have  succeeded  had  God's  people 
been  loyal  to  him? 

14.  Give  the  names  of  two  great  prophets  of  Judah. 

15.  How  long  did  Isaiah  continue  to  prophesy? 

16.  Mention  the  contrast  between  God's  people  marching  into 
and  out  of  the  land. 

17.  What  was  the  cause  of  their  final  disaster? 


Lesson  lo 


Elijah 

Old  Testament  Division— Fourth  Period  cConcIuded) 

LEADING  PERSONS 

Ahab  and  Jezebel,  and  Ahaziah,  rulers;  Elijah  and  EHsha, 
prophets.     See  Lesson  8. 

Notable  Events  in  the  life  of  Elijah.  Challenged  Ahab 
(i  Kings  17  :  i).  Sought  solitude  at  Cherith  (i  Kings 
17  :  2-7).     Dwelt  with  the  widow  of    Zarephath  (i  Kings 

1 7  :  8-24) .  Entered  great  contest  with  prophets  of  Baal 
(i  Kings    18  :  1-40).     Offered  a   prayer   for  rain  (i  Kings 

18  :  41-46).  Took  flight  in  despondency  to  Beersheba 
(i  Kings  19  :  1-8).  Received  revelation  from  God  at 
Horeb  (i  Kings  19  :  9-21).  Rebuked  Ahab  and  Jezebel 
for  unlawfully  taking  Na- 

both's  vineyard  (i  Kings  21 : 

1-29).     Declared  judgment 

upon  Ahaziah  (2  Kings  i  : 

1-18).     Carried  from  earth 

in    a    chariot    of    fire,    his 

prophet's      mantle     falling 

upon  Elisha  (2  Kings  2  :  i- 

18).       Reappears    on     the 

Mount    of    Transfiguration 

(Luke  9  :  28-36). 
TIME.— 925  B.  C.  to  900  B.  C. 
PLACES  —  Samaria,      Brook 

Cherith,      Zarephath,     Mt. 

Carmel,  Beersheba,   Horeb, 

Mt.  of  Transfiguration. 
SIGNIFICANCE   OF    EVENTS.— The  contest  of  true  religion 

with  heathen  beliefs  is  brought  to  a  sharp  focus  in  Elijah's 

time;  and  the  battle-line  there  drawn  so  sharply  has  ever 

been  a  challenge  for  Christian  courage  in  later  days. 

59 


6o  The  Book 

Elijah,  the  Great  Speaking  Prophet 

86.  Elijah's  Mission. — All  the  prophets  spoke,  though  some 
of  them  wrote  as  well,  like  Isaiah  and  others.  We  call  Elijah 
a  speaking  prophet  because  we  have  but  one  record  (2  Chron. 
21  :  12-15)  of  anything  that  he  wrote.  Elijah  was  sent  by  God 
to  the  Northern  Kingdom  at  the  time  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  to  try 
and  stay  the  tide  of  idolatry  that  was  threatening  to  overwhelm 
the  land.  Ahab  and  Jezebel  had  established  the  worship  of 
Baal  and  Ashtoreth,  two  nature  divinities  of  the  heathen 
world.  To  turn  back  this  tendency  God  sent  this  man  of  the  desert. 
Of  his  early  life  we  know  nothing.  He  "appears  before  us 
suddenly,  as  a  man  in  the  full  tide  of  life.  He  was  from  Gilead, 
and  a  man  of  action,  most  emphatically.  To  get  a  good  idea  of 
the  man,  we  may  set  him  forth  as  seen  in  six  notable  scenes. 

87.  First  Scene  :  Elijah  and  Ahab. — This  is  where  he  meets 
the  king,  and  announces  that  as  the  God  of  Israel  lives,  there 
shall  not  be  dew  or  rain  in  all  the  land,  excepting  at  the  word  of 
the  prophet.  Note  here  the  significant  nature  of  this  challenge. 
The  two  divinities  that  the  people  were  now  forced  to  worship 
were  supposed  to  preside  over  the  processes  of  nature.  Just  in 
their  realm  of  influence,  therefore,  Elijah  challenges  them,  and 
claims  that  his  God  has  given  to  him  power  over  the  forces  of 
nature,  such  as  neither  Baal  nor  Ashtoreth  possessed.  Then 
Elijah  disappears,  no  one  knows  whither. 

88.  Now  follows  the  fulfilment  of  his  prediction.  The  season 
for  the  early  and  for  the  latter  rain  comes  and  goes,  and  still 
there  is  no  rain.  Probably  some  said,  "This  is  unusual,  but  of 
course  things  will  even  up  next  year,  and  we  shall  have  an  abun- 
dance of  rain."  But  the  next  year  came  and  went,  and  still  the 
heavens  were  as  brass.  Ahab  now  tries'  to  discover  this  man 
who  holds  the  key  of  the  heaven,  that  he  may  force  him  to  unlock 
the  clouds.  But  in  vain.  The  third  year  comes  and  goes,  and 
still  there  is  no  rain,  while  the  land  is  dry  and  parched,  and  even 
the  king  finds  it  hard  to  get  food  for  his  horses.  At  the  same 
time  there  are  some  who  call  attention  to  the  most  unwonted 
fact  that  not  only  has  there  been  no  rain,  but  that  even  the 
dew  has  not  been  seen  for  three  years. 


Lesson  lo  6i 

89.  Second  Scene. — Now  comes  the  second  encounter  between 
the  prophet  and  the  enraged  monarch.  Most  dramatic  is  this 
brief  interview,  in  which  Ahab  charges  Elijah  with  troubling 
Israel,  and  Elijah  throws  the  charge  back  in  his  teeth.  Then 
comes  the  further  challenge  on  the  part  of  the  prophet  to  the 
priests  of  these  two  nature  divinities,  to  test  their  power  on 
Mount  Carmel.  The  scene  there  is  too  familiar  to  need  detailed 
description.  Suffice  it  to  remind  the  student  that  Baal's  priests 
were  powerless  to  make  good  their  claim  that  their  gods  held 
control  over  the  forces  of  nature.  Elijah,  however,  proves  that 
Jehovah  is  the  God  of  nature,  and  holds  all  things  in  his  hands, 
for  his  prayer  is  answered  by  fire,  and  the  sacrifice  is  consumed, 
with  the  wood  and  the  water  and  the  very  dust  that  lay  around 
so  abundantly.  Now  comes  the  confession  of  the  people  that 
Jehovah  and  not  Baal  is  the  true  God.  Then  comes  the  rain  at 
Elijah's  petition,  and  the  second  great  scene  in  the  life  of  this 
man  closes. 

90.  Third  Scene. — Very  different  is  this  from  either  of  the 
two  others.  We  see  this  man  sitting  discouraged  under  a 
juniper  tree,  and  asking  God  to  take  away  his  life,  as  he  is  not 
better  than  his  fathers.  Is  this  the  same  hero  whom  we  saw 
standing  in  all  his  triumph  before  the  king?  Yes,  the  same. 
How  then  account  for  the  difiference  in  his  mien?  Probably 
because  of  the  reaction  that  came  after  the  exciting  contest  with 
the  priests  of  Baal,  and  the  consciousness  that  he  had  not  won 
as  great  a  victory  for  Jehovah  as  he  had  anticipated.  For  as 
soon  as  the  prophets  of  Baal  had  been  slain,  Jezebel,  instead  of 
yielding,  had  sent  word  to  Elijah  that  she  would  kill  him  within 
twenty-four  hours.  It  was  this  apparent  failure  that  most 
probably  discouraged  the  prophet,  so  that  all  his  work  seemed 
to  him  to  have  come  to  naught.  Note  now  how  God  comforts 
his  servant,  how  he  ministers  to  his  body,  by  food  and  rest,  and 
to  his  mind  by  assuring  him  that  he  is  wrong  in  thinking  that 
he  only  remains  as  a  true  worshiper  of  Jehovah.  Furthermore, 
God  sends  him  to  Horeb,  where  Moses  learned  so  many  lessons  in 
things  divine,  and  there  God  speaks  to  Elijah  and  gives  him 
further  work  to  do,  so  that  when  the  prophet  comes  forth  from 
his  communion  with  God,  he  is  again  the  stern  man  of  duty  that 


62  The  Book 

he  was  before.  (Three  great  men  learned  much  at  Horeb: 
Moses,  Elijah,  and  Paul  the  Apostle,  for  when  he  went  to  Arabia, 
it  was  probably  Horeb  to  which  he  journeyed.) 

91.  Fourth  Scene. — Again  Elijah  and  Ahab  are  face  to 
face.  Ahab  has  coveted  the  vineyard  of  Naboth,  to  make  out 
of  it  a  garden  of  herbs.  Naboth,  as  was  his  right,  would  not 
part  with  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers.  Ahab  does  not  dare 
use  violence  to  secure  possession.  But  Jezebel  has  no  such 
scruples.  With  bribery  and  perjury,  she  soon  has  poor  Naboth 
convicted  of  blasphemy,  and  stoned  to  death.  Then  his  estate 
passing  to  the  crown,  she  tells  her  husband  to  arise  and  take 
possession.  Just  as  Ahab  reaches  the  viujeyard,  lo!  Elijah 
confronts  him.  The  prophet  was  the  last  man  whom  the  con- 
science-stricken king  desired  to  see,  particularly  at  that  very 
moment.  "Hast  thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy?"  he  exclaims, 
in  horror.  Then  comes  the  righteous  prophet's  stern  denuncia- 
tion of  the  guilty  king,  and  so  the  interview  closes. 

92.  Fifth  Scene. — Now  we  are  in  the  country  east  of  the 
Jordan.  Two  men  are  journeying  together,  and  we  recognize 
them  as  Elijah  and  his  successor  Elisha.  Suddenly  there  comes 
a  supernatural  rushing  of  what  seem  to  be  chariots  and  horses 
of  fire.  The  elder  of  the  two  is  caught  up,  and  carried  into 
heaven,  while  the  younger,  in  amazement  and  awe,  cries  out, 
"My  father,  my  father,  the  chariots  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen 
thereof!"  As  suddenly  as  Elijah  came  to  the  scenes  of  his 
activity,  so  suddenly  did  he  disappear. 

93.  Sixth  Scene. — More  quiet  than  any  of  the  others  is  this 
scene.  We  are  now  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  The 
Master  is  there,  and  three  of  his  disciples.  Suddenly  there 
appear  two  others  in  glory  with  the  Master.  They  are  the  great 
lawgiver,  Moses,  and  the  great  prophet,  Elijah.  They  are  talking 
with  Jesus  of  his  death  which  was  now  soon  to  take  place  in 
Jerusalem.  Then,  the  conversation  having  come  to  a  close,  the 
two  visitors  from  the  other  world  disappear,  and  the  Master  is 
left  alone  with  his  astonished  disciples. 

94.  Stern,  with  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes,  and  no  fear 
of  man  in  his  heart,  stands  this  man  of  God,  Elijah.  A  benedic- 
tion to  Israel  God  meant  him  to  be,  but  alas!  Israel  rejected  him, 


Lesson  lo  63 

as  it  did  the  other  prophets  whom  God  in  his  mercy  sent,  and  so 
Israel  pushed  on  to  its  own  final  ruin.  For  the  material  used 
in  this  sketch  look  at  i  Kings  17,  18,  19,  21,  and  2  Kings  2. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  divinities  was  Israel  worshiping  at  the  time   that 
Elijah  appeared? 

2.  What  relationship  to  nature  were  these  two  divinities  sup- 
posed to  hold? 

3.  Give  the  first  scene  in  the  life  of  this  prophet. 

4.  What  significance  was  there  in  his  challenge? 

5.  Give  the  second  scene  with  Ahab.     Where  did  the  con- 
test between  Elijah  and  the  prophets  of  Baal  take  place? 

6.  What  was  the  significance  of  this  scene? 

7.  Where  next  do  we  see  Elijah? 

8.  What  probably  was  the  cause  of  his  discouragement? 

9.  How  does  God  deal  with  his  servant  at  this  time? 

10.  Where  does  Elijah  now  go,  and  what  effect  does  his  com- 
munion with  God  have  on  his  spirit? 

11.  Give  scene  four. 

1 2.  Tell  the  story  of  Naboth  and  his  vineyard. 

13.  Where  next  do  we  find  the  great  prophet? 

14.  Who  was  Elijah's  successor? 

15.  What  is  the  last  scene  in  the  experience  of  Elijah  that  we 
find  in  the  Bible? 


Lesson  ii 


Return  from  Captivity 

Old  Testament  Division— Fifth  Period 

LEADING  EVENTS  AND  PERSONS 

Return  from  Captivity. — After  seventy  years,  Cyrus,  king 
of  Persia,  allowed  the  Jews  to  return  to  Jerusalem  to 
rebuild  the  Temple  under  Zerubbabel  (Ezra  i  :  i-ii). 
Altar  set  up  once  more  (Ezra  3  :  1-7).  The  Temple  begun 
(Ezra  3  :  8,  and  following  passages).  The  prophets  Haggai 
and  Zechariah  encouraged  the  people  (see  books  under 
their  names). 

Sixty  years  elapsed  of  which  we  know  nothing. 

Ezra  goes  to  Jerusalem  to  institute  reforms,  such  as 
prohibiting  mixed  marriages  of  Jews  with  other  nations 
(Ezra  7  :  I  to  9  :  15).  He  interpreted  the  law  (Neh.  8:  i- 
18)  and  celebrated  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

Nehemiah,  cup-bearer  to  Artaxerxes,  the  king.  Became 
solicitous  for  the  city  of  Jerusalem  and  its  broken  walls, 
prayed  for  guidance,  and  was  rewarded  by  the  king's 
assistance  (Neh.  i  :  i  to  2:8).  Opposed  by  Sanballat 
(Neh.  2  :  19,  20;  4  :  1-8;  6  :  1-14).  A  great  popular 
religious  festival  was  held  (Neh.  8  :  1-18).  Judah  was 
set  apart  from  strangers 
(Neh.  9  :  1-38;  13  :  1-3). 
The  law  of  the  Sabbath  was 
enforced  (Neh.  13  :  15-22). 
TIME.— 538  B.  C.  to  about  400 

B.  C. 
PLACES.— Babylon,  Jerusalem. 
SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS. 
— The  return  to  Jerusalem 
and  the  institution  of  re- 
forms were  events  of 
tremendous  import  to  the 
Jews,  and  the  faithfulness 
64 


Lesson  ii  O5 

of  a  few  men  was  given  high  recognition.  The  rebuilding 
of  the  Temple  and  reconstruction  of  the  city  walls 
looked  forward  through  four  centuries  to  the  fitting  setting 
for  the  scene  of  the  coming  Messiah. 

The  Captivity  and  the  Return 

95.  Condition  During  Captivity. — The  captivity  of  Judah 
lasted  seventy  years,  dating  from  the  first  captivity  under 
Jehoiakim,  605  B.  C,  when  among  others  Daniel  was  taken 
captive.  The  lot  of  the  captives  in  Babylon  was  bad  enough, 
but  it  was  not  by  any  means  as  severe  as  the  bondage  in  Egypt. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  captives,  such  as  Daniel,  Zerubbabel, 
Nehemiah,  occupied  positions  of  great  trust  and  emolument. 
Still,  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  Judah  did  mourn  and  weep,  as 
her  people  thought  of  Jerusalem  and  its  vanished  glories. 

96.  The  Return. — The  seventy  years  having  been  completed 
God  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  and  he  issued 
a  decree  allowing  all  Jews  who  so  desired  to  return  to  their 
own  land.  He  also  gave  them  many  vessels  of  gold  and  silver 
that  Nebuchadrezzar  had  taken  from  the  Temple,  that  they 
might  use  them  in  the  new  house  of  God  which  they  were  to 
build.  Zerubbabel  led  the  caravan  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem. 
Arrived  in  Jerusalem,  they  began  their  work  by  erecting  the 
altar  first.  This  was  right,  as  the  altar  was  the  foundation  of 
all  the  temple  services.  Altars  existed  long  before  temples  had 
been  built.  For  a  while  the  buHding  of  the  temple  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  foes  of  Judah,  but  at  last  it  was  completed,  the 
people  being  encouraged  by  the  prophets  Haggai  and  Zecha- 
riah.  So  they  dedicated  the  temple  with  much  joy,  and 
restored  the  sacrifices  as  Moses,  the  man  of  God,  had  com- 
manded. For  all  of  this  see  Ezra  1-6  and  the  books  of  Haggai 
and   Zechariah. 

97.  Ezra. — Now  comes  a  period  of  about  60  years,  in  which 
we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Jerusalem. 
At  last,  however,  Ezra,  the  scribe,  goes  up  to  the  Holy  City,  and 
with  him  a  number  of  oatriotic  Jews.  The  work  of  Zerubbabel 
was  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.  That  of  Ezra  was  emphat- 
ically the  reformation  of  religion   among  those  who  were  in 

5 


66  The  Book 

Judah  and  Jerusalem.  There  was  much  danger  that  through 
intermarriages  with  the  people  of  the  land  the  Jews  would 
again  abandon  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  A  large  part  of 
Ezra's  effort  was  aimed  against  this  evil.  The  people  declared 
their  willingness  to  do  as  Ezra  dictated,  and  so  the  danger  from 
this  direction  was  for  the  time  being  avoided. 

98.  Nehemiah. — Soon  after  this  we  come  to  the  story  of 
Nehemiah.  He  was  cupbearer  to  Artaxerxes,  a  position  of  much 
ease  and  wealth.  But  the  welfare  of  Jerusalem  lay  near  his 
heart,  and  he  made  it  his  business  to  know  how  matters  were 
progressing  in  that  city.  Certain  of  his  brethren  at  one  time 
brought  him  evil  tidings  from  there.  In  consequence  he 
betook  himself  to  prayer  that  God  would  give  him  such  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  the  king  that  he  would  allow  him  to  go  to  Jerusalem 
and  build  the  walls  that  had  been  thrown  down.  In  those  days 
a  city  without  walls  was  in  a  pitiful  condition,  exposed  to  the 
assaults  of  all  its  foes.  For  four  months  Nehemiah  prayed 
without  any  visible  answer.  Then  it  came  at  last  in  a  moment. 
One  day  at  the  table  the  king  noticed  that  the  face  of  his  cup- 
bearer was  sad.  "Why  is  thy  countenance  sad?"  he  inquired. 
Then  Nehemiah  (after  an  instant  of  silent  prayer)  told  the 
king  all  that  was  in  his  heart.  At  once  the  permission  was 
given  him  for  which  he  had  waited  and  prayed  for  four  months. 
So  off  he  started  as  soon  as  possible. 

99.  Nehemiah *s  Prayer. — Note  just  here  the  nature  of 
Nehemiah' s  prayer.  It  was  not  like  so  many  modern  prayers, 
one  for  ease.  No,  it  was  a  prayer  for  opportunity  to  make  sacrifice 
and  bear  heavy  burdens  for  the  sake  of  Jerusalem.  If  all  the 
church  were  in  this  day  to  pray  for  an  opportunity  to  bear 
burdens  and  make  sacrifices,  what  do  you  think  the  effect  would 
be  on  the  advance  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth? 

No  sooner  did  Nehemiah  reach  Jerusalem  than  he  inspected 
the  walls  to  see  exactly  the  condition  in  which  they  were.  Then 
he  assembled  the  rulers  and  told  them  of  his  plans,  and  heartened 
them  for  the  work.  He  divided  the  work  among  the  families, 
thus  giving  each  one  a  specific  task,  and  encouraging  the  spirit 
of  true  rivalry.  "To  every  man  his  work,"  seems  to  have  been 
his  excellent  motto.     So  the  people  got  to  work  with  enthusiasm. 


Lesson  ii  67 

100.  opposition. — Of  course  there  was  no  lack  of  opposition, 
for  all  good  causes  have  opponents.  But  none  of  these  things 
in  any  way  moved  this  grand  man  from  his  purpose,  or  abated  in 
any  degree  his  enthusiasm.  With  sword  in  one  hand  and 
trowel  in  the  other  the  people  pushed  the  work  forward,  while 
over  all  Nehemiah  watched  with  unceasing  care.  His  vigilance 
is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  for  nearly  two  months  he  never 
put  off  his  clothes.  So  in  fifty-two  days  the  work  was 
completed,  and  the  people's  hearts  were  filled  with  joy.  Under 
his  rule  was  gathered  what  has  sometimes  been  called  the  first 
Sunday-school  on  record  (Neh.  8).  He  knew  that  it  was  on 
account  of  the  ignorance  of  the  people  of  the  Word  that  they 
fell  so  easily  into  sin.  So  he  gathered  them  all  together,  and 
Ezra  read  and  explained  the  law  of  Moses  in  their  hearing. 
In  this  connection,  too,  they  celebrated  the  feast  of 
tabernacles,  in  commemoration  of  the  wanderings  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness. 

101.  Ever  watchful  of  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  people,  Nehe- 
miah instituted  reforms  in  the  matter  of  Sabbath-keeping,  and 
of  usury,  and  of  idolatrous  intermarriages  with  the  people  of 
the  land.  His  labors  never  ceased,  for  he  seems  to  have  realized 
that  "eternal  vigilance"  was  the  price  of  true  godliness,  in  the 
midst  of  idolatrous  surroundings. 

102.  Results  of  the  Captivity. — In  this  matter  of  the  cap- 
tivity, the  most  important  thing  for  us  to  bear  in  mind  is  that 
the  people  were  cured  by  their  experience  of  all  forms  of  idolatry. 
Up  to  that  time  this  had  been  their  besetting  sin,  into  which 
they  were  ever  falling.  From  the  time  of  the  captivity  and 
return  onward  to  the  present  day  the  Jew  has  been  a  strict 
monotheist.  Though  scattered  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  never 
again  has  he  fallen  into  this  pit  of  iniquity  and  this  slough  of 
despond.     This  is  a  most  remarkable  fact. 


68  The  Book 

Test  Questions 

1.  How  long  did  the  captivity  of  Judah  last? 

2.  Give  the  names  of  the  three  persons  most  prominent  in 
the  return  and  the  subsequent  reforms. 

3.  Who  first  led  the  Jews  up  out  of  Babylon? 

4.  What  was  the  chief  work  of  Zerubbabel  ? 

5.  How  did  he  begin  the  building  of  the  temple? 

6.  Name  the  two  prophets  who  encouraged  the  people  in  this 
work. 

7.  How  long  a  period  elapsed  betv/een  Zerubbabel  and  Ezra? 

8.  What  was  Ezra's  chief  work  in  Jerusalem  ? 

9.  What  was  Nehemiah's  position  at  the  court  of  Artaxerxes? 

10.  For  what  in  reality  was  Nehemiah  praying? 

11.  How  long  was  his  prayer  unanswered? 

12.  How  long  was  Nehemiah  in  building  the  walls? 

13.  What  illustration  is  given  of  his  fidelity  to  this  work? 

14.  What  other  reforms  did  Nehemiah  strive  to  inaugurate? 
15    What  is  the  most  noticeable  thing  about  the  religious  life 

of  Judah  during  and  after  the  captivity? 

Text  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  6  to  11 

1 .  In  what  order  were  the  various  parts  of  the  land  of  Canaan 
conquered? 

2.  What  was  the  cause  of  each  period  of  oppression  in  the 
time  of  the  Judges? 

3.  Who  brought  relief  from  the  oppression  of  Midian? 

4.  What  was  the  political  condition  of  the  people  in  the 
time  of  the  Judges? 

5.  What  reasons  did  the  Israelites  offer  for  wanting  a  king? 

6.  Give  instances  of  Saul's  hatred  toward  David. 

7.  Over  what  tribe  did  David  rule  alone  for  seven  years? 

8.  Give  the  boundaries  of  David's  kingdom  at  its  height. 

9.  What  noted  building  did  Solomon  erect  in  Jerusalem? 

10.  Why  were  the  people  finally  dissatisfied  with  the  king? 

11.  When  the  United  Kingdom  was  divided,  who  was  chosen 
king  over  the  Northern  Kingdom? 


Lesson  ii  69 

12.  Name  the  Northern  and  the  Southern  Kingdom. 

13.  What  king  tried  to  restore  the  worship  of  Jehovah? 

14.  Name  two  prophets  of  the  time  of  Jeroboam  II. 

15.  Under  what  king  was  Israel  carried  into  captivity? 

16.  Which  lasted  longer,  the  kingdom  of  Israel  or  of  Judah? 
How  much  longer?     Why? 

1 7.  Under  what  kings  did  Judah  have  great  reforms? 

18.  Name  two  great  prophets  of  Judah. 

19.  Describe  and  locate  the  contest  between  Elijah  and  the 
prophets  of  Baal. 

20.  Tell  the  story  of  Naboth  and  his  vineyard. 

21.  How  long  did  the  captivity  of  Judah  last? 

.     22,  Name  the  three  most  prominent  persons  that  had  to  do 
with  the  return. 

23.  What  was  Zerubbabel's  great  work? 

24.  What  two  prophets  encouraged  the  work? 

25.  What  was  Ezra's  work  in  Jerusalem?     Nehemiah's? 


70 


The  Book 


if 
A. 


Lesson  i 

New  Testament  Division 

PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 

Interval  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament — four 
hundred  years  of  silence.  Governmentally,  this  period  was 
divided  between  Persian,  Greek,  Maccabean,  and  Roman 
rule. 

Prelude  of  angelic  ministration.  Message  to  Zacharias  (Luke 
I  :  5-20) .  Annunciation  to  Mary  (Luke  i  :  26-38) .  Angelic 
chorus  on  Bethlehem's  plains  to  shepherds  (Luke  2  :  1-18). 
Warning  to  Joseph  to  flee  from  Herod  (Matt.  2  :  13).  The 
first  thirty  years  of  the  life  of  Jesus  are  referred  to  but 
slightly  in  the  Bible. 

First  Period. — Six  months  of  preaching  by  the  "forerunner," 
John  the  Baptist   (Matt.  3  :  1-13  ;  also  parallel  passages). 

Second  Period. — The  entire  life  of  Jesus,  from  the  baptism 
at  Jordan  to  the  crucifixion,  resurrection,  and  ascension. 
(See  entire  Gospel  narrative.) 

Third  Period. — From  Pentecost,  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
and  admission  into  the  church  of  three  thousand  in  one  day 
(Acts  2  :  1-40).  Gentiles  admitted  to  the  church  (Acts 
10:1-48).  The  first  persecution  (Acts  5:17-40).  The 
martyrdom  of  Stephen  (Acts  6,  7). 

Fourth  Period. — The  time  of  the  Gentiles — the  period  in 
which  we  now  live  (Rom.  11  :  25;  Luke  21  :  24). 

Fifth  Period. — Will  begin  with  "the  lifting  of  the  veil" 
from  the  eyes  of  Israel  (2  Cor.  3  :  15,  16).  The  close  of 
this  period  will  be  a  time  of  great  blessing  (Rom.  11:15). 

The  end  will  witness  the  final  triumph  of  the  religion  of  the 
Messiah  over  Jew  and  Gentile. 
TIME, — About  400  B.  C.  to  present  time. 
PLACES.     Palestine  and   Egypt;   for   the    Third    Period    see 

later  maps. 
SIGNIFICANCE    OF    EVENTS.— The  New  Testament  marks 
the  change  from  the  old  dispensation  of  priests  as  mediators, 

71 


72  The  Book 

to  the  new,  when  "Jesus  Christ  became  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  those  of  the  whole 
world!" 

The  New  Testament  Preview 

103.  Interval. — Between  the  close  of  the  Old  Testament 
Period  and  the  opening  of  that  of  the  New  Testament  there  is 
an  interval  of  four  centuries  of  silence. 

104.  Prelude. — This  is  largely  angelic  in  character.  To 
Zacharias  comes  the  message  of  the  birth  of  the  forerunner. 
Then  follows  the  angelic  annunciation  to  Mary  herself.  This  in 
turn  is  followed  by  the  angelic  message  to  the  shepherds  and 
the  heavenly  chorus  on  Bethlehem's  plain.  Heaven  stoops  to 
eaxth  to  announce  its  glad  tidings.  A  new  creation  is  heralded, 
better  and  grander  even  than  that  of  the  opening  chapters  of 
Genesis.  One  or  two  events  are  then  recorded  in  the  early  life 
of  the  Holy  Child,  and  then  there  is  silence  for  thirty  years. 
It  is  as  though  the  prelude  should  end  all.  But  no,  the  story 
will  not  end  with  mere  prelude.  It  will  go  on  its  course 
till  the  very  last  act. 

105.  First  Period. — From  John  to  Jesus.  Suddenly  John 
the  Baptist  breaks  on  our  vision,  for  his  short  but  decisive  part. 
His  message  is  twofold,  and  is  comprised  in  the  words  "Repent," 
"Prepare."  For  six  short  months  this  fiery  preacher  calls  the 
nation  to  prepare  for  what  God  has  in  store  for  it.  Multitudes 
gather  and  hearken.  Then  comes  Jesus  from  Nazareth,  and 
John  almost  in  one  breath  calls  him  "Son  of  God"  and  "Lamb 
of  God."  Two  apparently  irreconcilable  titles,  for  the  one 
means  power  and  exaltation,  and  the  other  sacrifice  and  humilia- 
tion. How  these  two  titles  were  to  blend  in  one  character  will 
be  seen  in  the  following  acts  of  the  Divine  dealing  with  men. 

106.  Second  Period. — From  Jordan  to  the  Mount  of  Oli-ves. 
Three  and  a  half  years  was  this  in  duration.  Short  as  compared 
with  any  one  of  the  Old  Testament  stories,  but  far  more  signifi- 
cant, and  more  full  of  the  Divine  revelation  of  God's  mercy  and 
justice.  Now  miracles  multiply  as  never  before,  for  now,  as 
never  before,  the  Divine  comes  down  to  man  and  holds  communion 
with  him.     Now  truth  is  made  clear  as  no  patriarch  or  prophet 


Lesson  i  73 

ever  saw  it.  Truly  in  this  period,  "Great  was  the  mystery  of 
godliness;  he  who  was  manifested  in  the  flesh. "  With  this  period 
we  shall  deal  more  in  detail  later  on  in  these  lessons,  so  we  make 
but  brief  allusion  to  it  in  this  place.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  not 
in  all  the  history  of  this  world  were  there  ever  three  years  and  a 
half  so  filled  with  benediction  for  mankind  as  were  these  of  the 
second  period. 

107.  Third  Period. — From  Pentecost  to  the  Turning  to  the 
Gentiles.  Pentecost  was  the  birthtime  of  the  Christian  Church. 
No  Pentecost,  no  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  No  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
no  Christian  Church.  In  that  case  the  world  of  to-day  would  be 
heathen,  Muhammadan  and  Jewish.  At  Pentecost  more  were 
brought  to  an  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  than  Jesus 
himself  had  won  in  his  whole  active  ministry.  About  five 
hundred  would  seem  to  have  been  the  number  of  believers  after 
our  Lord's  resurrection.  Now  in  one  day  Peter  wins  and  bap- 
tizes three  thousand.  Thence  onward  the  number  of  believers 
grows,  tUl  it  numbers  thousands  and  thousands.  But  all  these 
are  yet  Jews,  or  else  proselytes.  The  next  step  in  this  third 
period  is  the  official  opening  of  the  door  to  the  Gentile  world.  This 
took  place  at  Csesarea,  and  to  Peter  was  given  the  joy  and 
privilege  of  admitting  Gentiles  without  their  first  becoming 
Jews.  Through  Pentecost  and  the  experience  at  Caesarea  was 
in  large  measure  fulfilled  to  Peter  the  "promise  of  the  keys" 
(Matt.  16  :  19),  for  he  it  was  who  received  the  Jews  at  Pentecost 
into  the  church,  and  he  too  it  was  who  opened  the  door  of  the 
church  to  the  Gentile  world.  How  great  this  portion  of  Period 
Three,  and  how  significant  to  us,  is  apparent  as  soon  as  we 
realize  that  but  for  the  advance  in  Caesarea  we  in  this  day  would 
first  have  to  become  Jews  before  we  could  be  members  of  the 
living  church.  Had  the  Jews  been  willing  to  receive  the  Naza- 
rene  as  their  Messiah,  there  is  no  telling  what  sweeping  measure 
of  blessing  they  might  not  have  received.  Certain  it  is  that 
their  history  from  that  day  to  this  would  have  been  very  different 
from  what  it  has  been.  Their  rulers  cried,  "We  have  no  king 
but  Caesar,"  and  from  that  time  many  of  their  people  have 
had  few  to  rule  over  them  but  Czars,  Sultans,  Emperors,  and 
hostile  rulers. 


74  The  Book 

108.  Fourth  Period. — The  Times  of  the  Gentiles.  In  this 
period  we  now  are.  Here  it  behooves  one  to  speak  guardedly, 
for  opinions  differ.  The  writer  gives  his  interpretation  of 
what  the  Word  says.  When  the  Jews  refused  to  receive  Jesus 
as  their  Messiah,  the  Apostles  plainly  said,  "We  turn  to  the 
Gentiles"  (Acts  13  :  46).  On  account  of  their  hardness  of 
heart,  blindness  came  to  Israel,  and  a  veil  fell  before  their  eyes. 
"A  hardening  in  part  hath  befallen  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of 
the  Gentiles  be  come  in"  (Rom.  11  :  25).  Our  Lord  alludes 
to  this  same  truth  when  he  predicts  that  Jerusalem  shall  be 
trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be 
fulfilled  (Luke  21  :  24).  That  Jerusalem  from  the  days  of  Titus 
to  the  present  day  has  been  thus  trodden  under  foot  of  the 
Gentile  world  is  only  too  manifest  to  all  who  know  its  sad  history. 

In  this  period  our  lot  is  cast,  and  thus  we  become  actors  in  the 
great  Divine  drama  of  the  New  Testament.  Solemn  thought, 
and  one  calculated  to  make  us  feel  the  serious  nature  of  our 
responsibility. 

109.  Fifth  Period. — This  is  yet  to  come.  It  will  begin  with 
the  "lifting  of  the  veil"  from  the  eyes  of  Israel.  When  that  is 
to  begin  we  know  not,  and  it  is  neither  safe  nor  wise  to  venture 
any  guess.  But  that  it  will  come  in  due  time  is  as  sure  as  that 
all  the  other  predictions  of  Old  and  New  Testament  have  had 
their  commencement  and  their  close.  It  will  be  a  great  day, 
for,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  says,  "if  the  casting  away  of  them 
[Israel]  is  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving 
of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead?"  (Rom.  11  :  15).  That 
will  be  a  day  of  vast  ingathering  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
then  Jesus  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied. 

110.  Then  Comes  the  End. — Jew  and  Gentile  will  then  be 
one,  and  the  final  triumph  of  the  Redeemer  will  be  ushered  in. 
Then  the  ransomed  and  redeemed  of  the  Lord  shall  unite  in 
singing  praises  to  him  who  has  loved  them  and  bought  them, 
and  has  brought  them  home  to  glory.  (There  are  differences 
of  opinion  as  to  the  last  two  periods  in  this  New  Testament 
story.  Let  the  student  go  to  the  law  and  the  testimony,  as 
referred  to  above,  and  decide  for  himself  whether  the  writer  is 
upheld  in  his  laying  out  of  these  two  great  periods.) 


Lesson  i  75 

Test  Questions 

1.  How  long  an  interval  of  silence  is  there  between  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testament  times? 

2.  Give  the  prelude  to  the  New  Testament  Period. 

3.  In  what  does  the  first  period  consist? 

4.  How  long  does  the  first  period  last? 

5.  Give  the  title  of  the  second  period. 

6.  How  long  did  this  period  continue? 

7.  What  is  the  third  period  called? 

8.  Into  what  two  divisions  may  this  period  be  divided? 

9.  What  was  the  significance  of  the  admission  of  the  Gen- 
tiles to  the  church? 

10.  Give  the  fourth  period. 

11.  Name  the  fifth  period. 

12.  What  Scripture  is  there  in  support  of  these  two  periods? 


Lesson  2 
The  Life  of  Jesus — Thirty  Years  of  Preparation 

New  Testament  Division— Second  Period 

The  Life  of  Jesus  may  be  considered  under  five  subdivisions: 
Silence,  Obscurity,  Popularity,  Opposition,  The  Passion 
Week. 

Thirty  Years  of  Silence. — The  Bible  narrative  tells  but  little 
of  these  early  years;  but  one  public  utterance  of 
Jesus  is  referred  to  until  he  was  thirty  years  of  age. 

NOTE.— The  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels  used  in 
the  following  chapters  is  not  intended  to  be  memor- 
ized. It  is  placed  here  in  order  to  familiarize  the  pupil 
with  its  use,  and  to  afford  a  ready  means  to  locate  the 
events  in  the  Life  of  Jesus. 


Events 

Matthew 

Mark 

Luke 

John 

Introduction 

I  :  I 

1 : 1-4 
3 : 23-38 

1:5-25 

1 :  26-38 
1 : 39-56 
1 :  57-80 

2:1-21 

2  : 22-38 

2  :  39,  40 

2  : 41-52 

3  :  1-18 

1 : 1-18 

The  Genealogies. . 

1 : 1-17 

Appearance  of  an  Angel   to 
Zacharias 

An  Angel  Appears  to  Mary, 
Annunciation 

Mary  Visits  Elisabeth 

Birth  of  John  the  Baptist 

*i"ri8-2S* 

2 : 1-12 
2 : 13-18 
2 : 19-23 

An  Angel  Apjjears  to  Joseph.. 

The  Birth  of  Jesus,  etc 

Presentation   in  the  Temple 

(1,2) 

Visit  of  the  Magi 



Flight  into  Egypt,  etc.  (3). . . . 
Return  to  Nazareth  (4) 

Jesus  Goes  to  the  Passover 
(Sj6) 

•*V:2-8" 

Ministry  of  John  the  Baptist.. 

3  : 1-12 

(The  harmony  reproduced  here  is  taken  from  Professor  Riddle's  Outline  Harmony 
of  the  Gospels;  and  the  Journey  Maps  are  reproduced  from  Arnold's  Chart  of 
Christ's  Joumeyings  and  Chart  of  Paul's  Joumeyings.) 

TIME.— 5  B.  C.  to  A.  D.  26. 

PLACES — Bethlehem,  Jerusalem,  Egypt,  Nazareth. 
76 


Lesson 


77 


/"        ^  A 

J          c     S^ 

f                V                \ 

PERIOD  OF            4        ^              ) 

1            '^                          o>*^»% 

PREPARATION    ^    ^              [\se,  of 

1  \    ^  Nazareth  \jGa///ee 

"^                  /    /\      /I      x      s         < 

uj            r  /      '   I 

\  i 

CO                      1   /             'v...!... 

Ny 

J 

^•" fV      u 

^             / /s  A  M 
iw                1  / 

"^      y  /        1 

ct            f//                ^ 
^           /  // 

A 

R  1  Al  V 

'  i\ 

• — ^1        u 

-        A    / 

|/' 

*s                        f       / 

/            ^  Bethabara 

^                /   /        JERUSALEM/ 

K        A 

V           //          Bethlehem^"          lz\               1 

*       //J     U     D/E     A    ^ 

CO    1 

>r  /                   ^^^ 

CS   1 

//  ^^^ 

jrX    ^X^ 

1^ 

kV>--<^ 

,  1 

Copyright,  1898,  BY  JOHN  D.  WATTLES  &  Co. 


The  figures  attached  to  the  journeys  refer  to  events 
mentioned  in  the  first  column  on  the  opposite  page. 
A  method  for  using  these  Journey  maps  is  suggested 
in  the  section  entitled  Teaching  Hints,  in  the  Appendix 


78  The  Book 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— The  fulfilment  of  prophecy  is 
strikingly  shown  in  the  events  surrounding  the  coming  of 
Christ  and  the  preparation  for  his  ministry ;  and  the  preach- 
ing of  John  the  Baptist  epitomized  the  message  which  Jesus 
was  about  to  proclaim. 

The  Incomparable  Life 

111.  The  Thirty  Years  of  Silence. — To  these  years  the 
Gospels  give  small  space.  Only  Matthew  and  Luke  make  any 
mention  of  them,  and  these  give  to  them  only  four  chapters. 
All  the  rest  of  the  Gospels  are  devoted  to  the  three  and  a  half 
years  of  the  Lord's  active  ministry. 

112.  Take,  now,  first  what  we  know  of  this  early  life.  It  was 
lived  in  Nazareth,  in  Galilee.  Nazareth  was  a  town  where 
caravans  rested  on  their  journeys  between  Damascus  and  Egypt. 
It  was  a  rough  town,  as  we  may  infer  by  the  remark  of 
Nathanael,  "Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?"  (John 
1 :46).  His  home  was  that  of  a  workingman,  as  Joseph  was  a 
carpenter.  It  was  therefore  the  home  of  a  poor  man.  Doubtless 
he  himself  followed  for  all  those  years  of  silence,  the  trade  of 
his  reputed  father.  So  Jesus  was  truly  a  workingman  himself. 
His  mother  was  exceptionally  godly,  as  we  see  by  her  wonderful 
outburst  of  song  in  Luke  i  :  46-55.  This  song  is  fairly  saturated 
with  the  spirit  of  the  old  prophets.  Joseph  also  gives  signs  of 
his  fear  of  the  Lord  during  these  early  years  in  more  ways  than 
one.  Thus  we  may  be  sure  that  the  "atmosphere"  of  that  home 
was  conducive  to  godliness.  He  was  taught  the  Scriptures 
from  his  youth.  This  is  apparent  from  his  great  familiarity 
with  them,  shown  in  his  later  years.     To  this  we  shall  refer  later. 

113.  His  Early  Education. — Of  course  he  was  taught  to  read 
and  write,  as  every  Jewish  boy  was.  He  also  had  the  advantage 
of  frequent  visits  to  Jerusalem,  for  the  visit  referred  to  by  Luke, 
at  twelve  years  of  age,  was  only  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  such 
visits.  No  doubt  after  that  first  visit  he  went  up  to  the  Holy 
City  every  year  to  the  feast.  A  lad  of  his  type  of  mind  would 
not  let  such  an  opportunity  pass  without  taking  advantage  of 
it  each  time  that  it  came.     So  much  we  may  say  we  practically 


Lesson  2  79 

know  about  these  thirty  years.  But  there  is  much  that  we  may 
legitimately  infer,  and  when  guardedly  used,  inference  is  a 
legitimate  source  of  knowledge.  If  you  will  let  me  go  into  a 
man's  library,  I  may  be  able  to  infer  with  much  accuracy  the 
calling  of  that  man.  If  the  majority  of  the  books  are  medical 
or  legal,  I  infer  that  the  man  is  a  doctor  or  a  lawyer.  If  the 
majority  of  the  books  that  are  worn  are  light  fiction,  my  inference 
is  of  a  totally  different  nature.  If,  to  change  the  illustration, 
I  go  to  the  home  of  a  lady,  and  in  the  afternoon  find  that  I  can 
write  my  name  in  the  dust  on  the  polished  piano-lid,  "  infer 
somewhat  about  the  housekeeper  in  whose  home  I  am, 

114.  Making,  then,  reverent  use  of  inference,  what  may  we 
learn  about  these  thirty  years  of  our  Lord's  life,  and  of  the 
influences  that  were  at  work  all  that  time?  Who  were  his 
teachers?  For,  bear  in  mind,  that  at  the  time  of  Jesus'  entry 
into  his  public  ministry,  he  came  as  a  full-fledged  man,  who  was 
prepared  for  his  life's  work. 

115.  Nature  Taught  Him. — Nature  is  God's  first  book,  and 
if  man  had  not  sinned,  he  would  have  needed  no  other.  To 
Jesus,  nature  was  an  open  volume,  and  he  read  it  in  all  its 
spiritual  significance.  While  other  boys  saw  only  that  which 
was  outward,  he  saw  that  which  was  inward  and  had  spiritual 
meaning.  To  him  the  lily  spoke  of  his  Father's  care,  the  leaven 
that  he  saw  in  his  mother's  house  spoke  to  him  of  the  way  in 
which  the  kingdom  of  God  grew  in  this  world.  The  mustard 
seed  was  an  illustration  of  the  growth  of  truth.  Many  of  his 
most  simple  and  precious  teachings  were  drawn  thus  from  nature. 
Sparrows,  seed  and  tares,  fig-tree,  salt,  and  many  other  objects 
of  nature  told  him  of  things  unseen. 

116.  Men  Taught  Him. — He  doubtless  mingled  much  with 
them  in  Nazareth,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  the  boy  going  to 
the  camping-place  of  the  passing  caravans,  and  listening  to  the 
tales  that  the  men  from  far  countries  had  to  tell.  The  stories 
that  he  afterward  made  use  of  were  in  many  cases  doubtless 
gathered  from  such  sources.  But  he  made  them  illustrate 
things  unseen  and  spiritual.  Look  at  his  parables,  and  see  how 
true  this  may  easily  be.  The  ten  virgins  may  well  have  been  a 
story  that  he  heard,  and  of  which,  he  made  such  solemn  use  in 


8o  The  Book 

his  ministry.  Is  it  unnatural  to  suppose  that  in  these  gatherings 
of  men  he  may  have  heard  some  one  tell  of  a  pearl  merchant 
and  his  fortune  in  finding  a  peculiarly  valuable  pearl?  In  due 
time  he  used  this  story  to  illustrate  the  wisdom  of  staking  all 
on  one  superlative  venture.  Look  at  his  parables,  and  see  how 
he  made  use  of  the  interests  of  men  in  making  clear  the  things 
pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  sower,  the  lost  silver, 
the  prodigal  son,  children  in  the  market-place,  the  rich  fool,  the 
vineyard  and  the  laborers — these  and  many  more  show  how 
richly  the  relationships  of  men  with  their  fellow-men  instructed 
him. 

117.  The  Bible  Taught  Him. — He  was  most  familiar  with 
its  teachings,  and  knew  how  to  use  them  on  the  spot,  without  refer- 
ence to  commentary  or  concordance.  We  find  in  his  sayings  refer- 
ence to,  or  quotations  from,  the  following  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment: Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy, 
I  Samuel,  i  and  2  Kings,  2  Chronicles,  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Isa- 
iah, Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Jonah,  Joel,  Hosea,  Micah,  Zech- 
ariah,  and  Malachi — 22  in  all.  Had  all  the  utterances  of  our  Lord 
been  given  to  us,  I  doubt  not  that  we  should  have  found  that  he 
quoted  from  every  book  of  the  Old  Testament.  For  bear  in 
mind  that  we  have  only  a  very  small  part  of  what  our  Lord  said 
preserved  for  us.  His  recorded  words  are  only  38,422,  or  the 
equivalent  of  ten  short  sermons.  But  for  three  years  he  was 
speaking  incessantly. 

118.  Prayer  Taught  Him. — His  habit  of  spending  all  night 
in  prayer  was  not  one  acquired  of  a  sudden.  No  doubt  he 
spent  many  a  night  in  prayer  while  he  was  still  at  the  carpenter's 
trade.  But  the  prayer-habit  is  one  calculated  to  shed  much 
light  on  things  that  lay  hold  on  eternal  truth.  All  spiritual 
seers  are  men  of  much  prayer. 

119.  Finally,  His  Visits  to  Jerusalem  Taught  Him. — Not 
in  vain  did  he  go  at  least  18  times  to  that  city  before  his  public 
ministry  began.  It  was  in  this  way  that  he  saw  the  formality 
of  the  Pharisaic  party,  and  the  self-seeking  of  scribe  and  chief 
priest.  So  when  he  denounced  them  so  fiercely  in  later  times, 
he  did  it  not  out  of  an  experience  of  day  before  yesterday,  but 
out  of  years  of  observation.     Such  were  some  of  the  influences 


Lesson  2  81 

that  surrounded  him,  and  the  teachers  that  prepared  him  during 
those  thirty  years  of  silence  for  his  great  work.  Thus,  when 
the  fulness  of  time  came,  he  stepped  forth  full  armed  for  the 
contest  with  the  powers  of  darkness. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Where  were  Christ's  thirty  years  of  silence  spent? 

2.  What  was  our  Lord's  trade? 

3.  What  can  we  say  of  the  religious  life  of  his  mother  and  of 
his  father? 

4.  In  what  way  is  inference  a  legitimate  ground  of  know- 
ledge? 

5.  What  is  the  first  of  the  teachers  of  our  Lord  during  that 
time  that  is  mentioned? 

6.  Give  the  second  of  his  teachers. 

7.  What  else  did  he  have  as  teacher? 

8.  Illustrate  each  of  these  somewhat  in  detail. 

9.  What  else  taught  him? 

10.   What  is  the  last  of  these  teachers  mentioned? 


lyesson  3 
The  Year  of  Obscurity 

New  Testament  Divisicm— Second  Period 

Religious  Life  of  the  time  was  marked  by  absence  of  idolatry, 
by  the  presence  of  numerous  synagogues  and  of  reverence 
for  the  Scriptures. 

Government  was  that  of  a  foreign  nation — Rome. 


Events 

Matthew 

Mark 

Luke 

John 

Baptism  of  Jesus       

The  Wilderness.  Temptation 

3 :  13-17 
4  :  i-ii 

1:9-11 
1 :  12, 13 

3 : 21-23 
4 : 1-13 

The  Witness  of  JohA,  etc 

Cana.     The   First   Miracle. 
Capernaum  (3,  4) 

1 :  19-51 

Jerusalem.     First  Cleansing 
of  the  Temple,  etc.  (s) 



2 :  13  to 
[3:21 

3 : 22-36 
4:1-3 

4  :  4-42 

Ministry  in  Judea,    Witness 
of  the  Baptist 

Imprisonment    of    John  the 
Baptist.         Jesus     leaves 
Judea,  etc 

14  : 2-5; 
[4:12 



6  :  17-20 
[1:14 

3  :  19,  20; 
[4:14 

Jacob's     Well.        Discourse 
with    Samaritan    Woman, 
etc.  (6) 

TIME — A.  D.  26  to  A.  D.  27. 

PLACES. — Wilderness  of  Judea,  Bethany  beyond  Jordan,  Cana, 
Sychar,  Jerusalem,  Judea. 


82 


Lesson  3 


83 


JUDEAN  MINISTRY 


Sea  of 
Galilee 


Copyright.  1898,  Bv  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 


The  figures  attached  to  the  journeys  refer  to  events 
mentioned  in  the  first  column  on  the  opposite  page. 


84  The  Book 

The  iDComparable  Life  (Continued) 

120.  The  Year  of  Obscurity. — Before  examining  this  at  all, 
it  will  be  well  to  consider  the  state  of  national  life  into  which 
the  life  of  the  Master  was  projected.  It  was  not  like  that  which 
we  have  seen  prevailed  so  constantly  before  the  captivity,  for 
there  was  now  among  Jews  no  idolatry  of  any  kind  to  be  found. 
This  was  a  great  gain.  Moreover,  it  was  a  national  life  under 
subjection  to  a  foreign  and  Gentile  power.  With  this  power  the 
Lord  had  to  reckon,  of  course.  Once  more  there  was  great 
reverence  for  the  written  Word,  which  was  now  more  full  than 
it  ever  had  been,  for  the  Old  Testament,  as  we  have  it,  was  all 
in  existence.  There  was  to  be  found  in  every  Jewish  town  the 
synagogue,  where  the  law  was  read  and  expounded.  This 
institution  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  captivity  experience,  and 
was  most  valuable.  But,  alas!  there  was  also  much  of  formality, 
especially  among  the  religious  leaders.  They  had  so  added  to 
or  explained  the  written  law  that  it  had  become  void  through 
the  traditions  of  men.  Much  religiosity,  but  little  true  religion, 
was  to  be  found.  Yet  among  the  lowly  there  was  still  true 
religion,  as  shown  by  such  persons  as  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth, 
Joseph  and  Mary,  Mary,  Martha,  and  Lazarus.  Into  a  national 
life  such  as  is  here  very  briefly  indicated,  Jesus  came  forth. 

121.  The  Baptism. — He  is  introduced  to  us  in  this  year,  first 
at  his  baptism  (Matt.  3  :  13).  Here  we  have  our  first  foreshadow- 
ing of  the  Trinity,  for  here  the  Son  stands,  praying,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  Father's  approving  voice  is  heard,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  descends  and  rests  on  the  Son. 

122.  The  Temptation. — This  is  at  once  followed  by  the  forty 
days  of  temptation  in  the  wilderness.  Of  this  experience  we 
are  given  but  three  specific  instances.  These  seem  to  be  typical 
of  all  the  rest,  and  relate  to:  i.  Unlawful  use  of  his  miraculous 
power  for  himself.  2.  Dramatic  display  of  his  power  as  Messiah. 
3.  Absolute  turning  from  his  life-purpose  for  the  sake  of  self- 
aggrandizement.  All  these,  it  is  worthy  of  note,  are  resisted, 
by  the  use  of  the  written  Word,  which  in  Jesus'  hands  is  a  mighty 
sword.  The  fundamental  reason  for  this  assault  on  the  part  of 
Satan  may  be  found  in  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  Adversary 


Lesson  3  85 

knew  that  Jesus  had  come  to  this  world  to  destroy  his  works. 
Demons  knew  who  Jesus  was  long  before  men  did.  On  that 
account  the  great  assault  was  made,  for  if  Jesus  could  be  stum- 
bled into  sin,  then  he  could  not  be  Saviour,  since  he- himself 
would  need  to  be  saved.  Had  Jesus  yielded  in  the  wilderness, 
Calvary  would  not  have  been  of  any  avail. 

123.  The  First  Disciples. — During  this  first  year  Jesus  gained 
many  disciples,  though  he  himself  did  not,  like  John  the  Baptist, 
baptize  them.  This  he  left  to  his  chosen  disciples.  This  shows 
that  the  popularity  of  the  Baptist  had  at  this  time  already  begun 
to  wane,  as  he  himself  predicted  that  it  would.  Not  many 
miracles  are  recorded  during  this  period,  though  we  know  that 
the  one  in  Cana  of  Galilee  was  the  first  of  a  series.  The 
gathering  of  disciples,  who  later  became  apostles,  begins  in 
this  year.  In  one  day  the  record  indicates  that  he  gained  six 
of  these  (John  i  :  35-51). 

124.  The  Cleansing  of  the  Temple. — A  most  dramatic  event 
in  this  year  is  his  first  cleansing  of  the  Temple.  The  extortion 
practised  in  the  court  of  the  Temple  filled  him  with  indignation 
and  he  drove  out  the  money  changers,  and  dealers  in  cattle  and 
doves,  declaring  that  his  Father's  house  was  a  house  of  prayer, 
while  they  had  made  it  a  den  of  thieves.  This  drew  on  him  the 
antagonism  of  the  rulers  under  -whose  fostering  care,  or  at  least 
through  whose  negligence,  these  abuses  had  grown  up.  This 
antagonism  never  ceased  until  they  had  worked  on  him  their 
will  on  Calvary. 

125.  Interview  with  Nicodemus. — It  was  during  this  first 
year  that  we  have  two  most  remarkable  dialogues  of  our  Lord. 
The  first  is  that  with  the  ruler  Nicodemus.  At  this  interview 
either  John  the  evangelist  must  have  been  present,  or  else  Jesus 
or  Nicodemus  must  have  told  John  what  was  said.  In  this  dia- 
logue occurs  the  most  significant  sentence  that  the  world  has  ever 
heard,  having  within  twenty-four  words  more  of  Divine  truth 
than  any  other  similar  number  of  words  ever  uttered, — John 
3  :  16.  In  this  verse,  as  Dr.  Arthur  T.  Pierson  puts  it,  we  have 
five  couplets: 

1.  God  the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  the  originators  of  salvation. 

2.  The  Divine  action,  "loved,"  and  "gave." 


86  The  Book 

3.  Those  toward  whom  this  action  was  directed.  "The 
world,"  and  to  make  it  personal,  "whosoever." 

4.  The  condition  on  which  the  Divine  gift  may  he  had. 
"Believe,"  and    therefore  "have." 

5.  That  for  which  all  this  action  is  taken,  "not  perish,"  but 
have  "everlasting  life." 

126.  The  Woman  of  Samaria. — In  this  year  too,  at  its  close, 
comes  the  interview  with  the  woman  at  Jacob's  well,  in  Samaria. 
It  is  well  worth  noticing  that  to  a  woman,  and  she  a  Samaritan 
woman,  Jesus  poured  out  truth  as  prodigally  as  he  did  to  Nico- 
demus,  a  ruler  of  his  own  nation.  The  result  of  this  interview 
was  the  adherence  of  a  large  number  of  Samaritans  to  the 
Master.  All  the  above  story  of  this  first  year  of  our  Lord's 
public  ministry  we  learn  only  from  the  Gospel  of  John,  each  of 
the  other  evangelists  beginning  his  story  with  the  Galilean 
ministry. 

127.  Note  that  our  Lord's  whole  public  life  is  condensed  into 
three  and  a  half  short  years.  Yet  what  a  wonderful  work  he 
accomplished  in  that  period!  The  active  life  of  Alexander  the 
Great  was  thirteen  years,  and  that  of  Napoleon  twenty-three 
years.  In  those  years  these  two  men  wrought  wonders.  But 
their  empire  has  long  since  passed  away.  The  empire  of  the 
Master  is  to-day  wider  than  ever,  and  the  work  of  those  three 
years  and  a  half  will  never  cease  to  be  felt.  This  is  because 
he  was  more  than  mere  man,  and  brought  to  his  task  super- 
human power  and  knowledge. 

Test  Questions 

1 .  State  the  condition  of  Palestine  religiously  at  the  time 
of  our  Lord's  entry  into  public  life. 

2.  What  was  the  value  of  the  synagogue? 

3.  Give  the  first  event  of  the  year  in  question. 

4.  Of  what  doctrine  do  we  see  the  foreshadowing  at  Christ's 
baptism? 

5.  Give  the  threefold  nature  of  the  temptations  of  which  we 
have  record. 

6.  What  reason  may  we  assign  for  the  attempt  of  Satan  to 
draw  Christ  to  sin? 


Lesson  3  87 

7.  With  whom  did  Jesus  have  a  most  significant  interview 
in  Jerusalem? 

8.  Give  the  five  couplets  in  John  3  :  i6. 

9.  With  whom  did  Jesus  have  another  interview  at  Jacob's 
well? 

10.  What  was  the  result  of  that  interview? 

11.  What  is  there  significant  in   the   brevity  of  our  Lord's 
public  life  as  compared  with  that  of  Alexander  or  Napoleon? 


Lesson  4 
The  Year  of  Popularity 

New  Testament  Division— Second  Period  (Continued) 


Events 


Public  Teaching  in  Galilee. . . 

Cana.  Healing  of  the  Noble- 
man's Son  (i) 

Rejection  at  Nazareth  (2) 

Sea  of  Galilee.  Call  of  the 
Fishermen,  etc.  (3) 

Healing  of  Peter's  Wife's 
Mother,  of  a  Demoniac, 
etc 

Preaching  Tour  through  Gal- 
ilee (4) 

Healing  of  a  Leper 

Healing  of  a  Paralytic,  etc 

Jerusalem.  Healing  of  In- 
firm Man,  etc.  (5,  6) 

Sabbath  Controversies,  etc.. .. 

Multitudes  Gather  by  the  Sea. 

Galilee.  Choice  of  the 
Twelve  (7) 

Sermon  on  the  Mount 

Capernaum.  Healing  of  Cen 
turion's  Servant  (8) 

Nain.  Raising  of  the  Widow's 
Son  (9) 

John  the  Baptist  Sends  Mes 
sengers  to  Jesus 

Discourse  of  Jesus  about  his 
Mighty  Works 

Our    Lord    Anointed    by 
Woman 

Second  Circuit  in  Galilee  (10) 

Healing  of  a  Demoniac,  etc. 

Woes  against  the  Pharisees, 
etc 


Parable  of  the  Sower,  etc 

Voyage     across     the     Lake, 
Tempest  Stilled  (11) 

Demoniacs      near     Gadara, 

Recrossing  the  Lake  (12).. . 

Feast  of  Matthew,  etc 


Second  Rejection  at  Nazareth 
(13) 

Another  Circuit  in  Galilee 
the  Twelve  Sent  Forth  (14) 


Herod's  Dread  of  Jesus. 


Matthew         Mark 


4:17 


4 : 13-16 
4 :  18-22 

8 :  14-17 

4  :  23-25 
8:2-4 
9:2-9 


12  :  1-14 
12  :  15-21 

10  :  2-4 
5  :  I  to  8  :  1 

8  : 5-13 


II  :2-i9 
II :  20-30 


12  :  22-50 


13 : 1-S3 
8  :  18-27 


8  :  28  to  9  : 1 
9 : 10-34 


13  :  54-58 

9  :  35-38; 
[10  :  1,  5,  to 
[11:  I 

14  :  I,  2, 

[6-12 


16-20 


I : 21-34 

1  :  35-39 

1  :  40-45 

2  : 1-14 


2  :  23  to  3  : 6 
3 :  7-12 


3  :  13-19 


3  :  20-35 


4 : 1-34 

4  :  35-41 

5  : 1-21 
2  :  15-22; 

[5  :  22-43 

6:1-6 
6:6-13 


6 : 14-16, 
[21-29 


Luke 


4 : 16-31 
S  :  i-ii 

4  ••  31-41 

4 : 42-44 

5  :  12-16 
5 : 17-28 

"6:V-Vi  ' 

6  :  17-19 

6 :  12-16 
6 :  20-49 

7 :  i-io 

7 : 11-17 

7 : 18-35 


7 : 36-50 

8:1-3 

11  :  14-36; 

[8 :  19-21 

II  :37to 
[13:9 
8 : 4-18 

8  :  22-25; 
[9  : 57-62 

8  :  26-40 

5:29-39;^ 

[8  :  41-56 


9  : 1-6 


9:7-9 


John 


4 : 43-45 
4  :  46-54 


TIME.— A.  D.  28  to  A.  D.  29. 
PLACES.— Capernaum,     Galilee, 

Nazareth. 

88 


Jerusalem,     Nain,     Gadara, 


Lesson  4 


89 


(                      <-    ^^ 

> 

i                     ^                   r 

GALILEAN 

\              N    Capernao^    \ 

Jelhsaida 

MINISTRY 

/          ^/^^ ^/^^^^^^ 

1  \ 

{ Cana  1  vysi/lk.  ^^^ 

Gergesa 

/  \ 

O        \      pJ^KiJ///ni6'ea 

of  Galilee 

^ 

/  Na.a.;^y//v 

f 

Ui 

\             /Nain   yf// 

CO 

< 

^ 

V.  1  if  j 

'^ 

kf 

"'"•■1 ••-....// ,..\ 

^ 

/       7/ S 

u 

^ 

/          //            v 

is    A 

M  a/  r^i   aI 

Sychar          jl         t^r 

X 

s^       / 

• •^.«. If        1? 

^     / 

"^  "jy "•••-..-> 

1 

J                %) 

u 

Jt 

f 

II              |/ 

/  "^ 

u 

D    z    A  ^; 

QL 

^ 

JERUSALEM                      f\ 

lD€ADl 

H 

Copyright,  1898,  by  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 


The  figures  attached  to  the  journeys  refer  to  events 
mentioned  in  the  first  column  on  the  opposite  page. 


90  The  Book 

The  Incomparable  Life  (Continued) 

128.  The  Year  of  Popularity. — This  was  spent  in  Galilee. 
The  Galileans  had  heard  of  his  fame  from  those  of  their  number 
who  had  seen  him  in  Jerusalem,  so  it  required  but  a  few  deeds  of 
might  to  arouse  them  to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm.  His 
activity  during  this  year  may  be  studied  with  relation,  first,  to 
his  miracles,  and  second,  to  his  teaching. 

129.  His  Miracles  Multiplied. — These  were  multiplied  beyond 
any  previous  precedent.  They  sprang  from  him  as  sparks  spring 
from  the  red-hot  iron  of  the  blacksmith  under  the  hammer. 
There  must  have  been  single  days  when  he  wrought  hundreds  of 
miracles.  Take  that  Sabbath  day  in  Capernaum  as  an  example. 
In  the  morning  in  the  synagogue  he  healed  a  demoniac.  In  the 
later  part  of  the  day  he  healed  Peter's  mother-in-law.  Then,  as 
the  sun  was  setting,  there  came  to  him  all  in  that  city  that  had 
maladies  of  any  kind,  and  he  healed  them  all.  A  wonderful  day 
that,  for  Capernaum.  No  wonder  that  later  on  he  referred  to 
that  city  as  exalted  to  heaven.  His  miraculous  power  manifested 
itself  over  disease  of  every  kind.  No  malady  was  unreachable 
by  him.  The  three  characteristics  of  his  healing  ministry  were, 
first,  it  was  instantaneous — there  was  no  period  of  convalescence. 
Deathly  sick  one  moment — perfectly  well  the  next  ;  this  was  the 
history  of  each  patient.  (One  exception  there  is  to  this,  and 
that  is  of  the  man  who  needed  two  touches  to  cure  his  blindness 
(Mark  8  :  24.)  Was  the  man's  faith  at  fault  ?)  Second,  it  was 
perfect — there  were  no  signs  of  weakness  left  and  no  relapses. 
How  unlike  the  frequent  experience  under  even  the  best  of 
modern  physicians!  In  the  third  place,  it  was  all  withotU  money 
or  price. 

130.  His  Power  was  equally  great  over  death.  He  called,  and 
Lazarus  came  forth;  he  took  the  dead  maiden  by  the  hand  and 
she  arose.  He  spoke  to  the  young  man  on  his  bier  and  he  re- 
sponded. His  power  extended  to  the  spirit  world,  for  he  com- 
manded evil  spirits  to  come  out  of  men,  and  they  obeyed.  Nature 
obeyed  his  voice,  as  when  he  spoke  to  the  winds  and  the  waves 
and  they  were  hushed.  Man,  nature,  and  the  spirit  world  all 
recognized  his  power  and  yielded  swift  obedience.     No  wonder 


Lesson  4  91 

that  his  popularity  was  immense  under  these  circumstances. 
It  would  not  be  possible  to  exaggerate  the  exciting  scenes  through 
which  he  passed  during  this  year.  Men  thronged  around  him 
so  violently,  and  crushed  together  to  see  and  hear  him  so  vehe- 
mently, that  many  were  thrown  down  and  trampled  on.  Wild 
cries  must  have  come  from  the  masses  of  people  who  so  excitedly 
pressed  near  to  him.  They  actually  broke  up  the  roof  of  one 
house  so  as  to  get  into  his  presence  the  patient  for  whom  they 
craved  his  services.  He  had  not  time  so  much  as  to  eat  in  peace, 
as  they  gave  him  no  respite  (Mark  6  :  31). 

131.  His  Miracles  as  Lessons. — All  these  miracles  of  his  were 
in  reality  also  object-lessons  to  lead  men  to  an  apprehension  of 
things  invisible  and  spiritual.  If  he  healed  a  man  born  blind, 
it  was  to  make  men  see  that  they  needed  spiritual  sight.  If  he 
touched  the  deaf  man's  ears  and  made  him  hear,  what  was  this 
but  an  object-lesson  showing  that  they  wofully  needed  spiritual 
hearing?  And  if  he  raised  the  dead,  this,  too,  was  to  teach  a 
great  spiritual  truth,  namely,  that  he  was  the  resurrection  and 
the  life. 

132.  In  all  this  wonderful  life  we  are  glad  to  note  how  much 
of  happiness  must  have  come  to  the  Master  as  he  saw  the  sick 
made  instantly  well.  At  the  same  time  his  gift  of  healing  some- 
times brought  to  him  exquisite  sorrow,  as  in  the  case  of  the  ten 
lepers,  nine  of  whom  did  not  think  it  worth  their  while  to  go  back 
to  say,  "Thank  you."  It  was  at  this  time  in  his  ministry  that 
the  Master  began  to  bid  men  whom  he  helped  hold  their  peace, 
for  there  was  really  danger  that  the  excited  throngs  would 
develop  into  uncontrollable  mobs,  and  that  the  Roman  govern- 
ment would  find  it  necessary  to  interfere. 

133.  His  Teaching  was  apparently  less  important  than  were 
his  miracles,  though  it  was  really  more  important.  If  we  could 
have  only  the  miracles,  or  the  teaching,  we  would  at  once  take 
the  teaching.  The  miracles  were  chiefly  temporary  in  their  effect, 
while  the  influence  of  the  teaching  is  eternal.  In  view  of  the 
fact  that,  as  noted  in  Lesson  2,  we  have  so  few  of  his  words 
recorded,  we  may  well  wonder  at  their  power.  As  he  said, 
"the  words  that  I  have  spoken  unto  you  are  spirit,  and  are  life" 
(John  6  :  63). 


92  The  Book 

134.  His  teaching  was  characterized  by  its  boldness.  He 
taught  them  as  one  who  had  authority,  for  he  knew  by  inward 
experience  the  truth  of  all  that  he  uttered.  The  Scribes  were 
more  like  parrots,  for  they  repeated  the  opinions  of  those  who  had 
gone  before  them,  and  had  no  true  vision  of  things  spiritual. 
Jesus,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  hesitate  to  quote  passages  from 
Moses,  and  set  them  aside,  on  his  own  authority.  He  had  larger 
vision  than  had  the  great  lawgiver,  and  he  was  well  aware  of 
that  fact.  "Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said — but  I  say 
unto  you, "  such  was  his  confident  manner  of  teaching.  And  the 
results  of  his  teaching  have  fully  substantiated  his  claim. 

135.  In  his  teaching  he  was  infinitely  tender  with  confessed 
sin,  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  equally  stern  against  professed 
holiness.  No  more  terrible  words  have  ever  been  spoken  than 
those  of  the  Master  against  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  on  account 
of  their  hypocrisy.  To  read  them  with  any  adequate  conception 
of  the  occasion  is  to  feel  almost  terrified  at  their  vehemence. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  zephyr  was  ever  more  gentle  than  were 
his  words  to  those  who  felt  their  sin  and  wished  to  abandon  it. 

136.  In  his  teaching  he  made  much  use  of  parable,  for  this 
was  in  reality  a  picture,  and  he  knew  that  pictures  convey  truth 
and  are  remembered  longer  than  any  other  form  of  speech. 
What  an  array  of  pictures  his  parables  have  hung  in  the  galleries 
of  our  memories!  Prodigal  Son,  Good  Samaritan,  Ten  Virgins, 
Lost  Sheep,  Unjust  Judge — what  are  these  but  pictures  that 
we  cherish,  and  from  which  we  gain  eternal  truths  of  the  most 
precious  nature? 

137.  His  teaching  for  the  most  part  revolved  around  the  idea 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  Earth,  and  Himself  as  its  Center. 
Let  the  student  look  up  all  the  parables  of  the  Kingdom  and  he 
will  realize  the  truth  of  this  statement.  The  reason  why  even 
his  nearest  disciples  misunderstood  him  so,  and  thought  that  this 
kingdom  was  to  be  like  that  of  David,  was  that  they  did  not  put 
the  emphasis  in  the  right  place.  They  thought  of  "The  kingdom 
of  God,"  while  he  thought  of  "The  Kingdom  of  God."  There  is 
a  great  difference  between  these  two  forms  of  emphasis.  The 
one  led  them  to  ask  for  places  on  his  right  and  left  in  his  kingdom ; 
the  other  emphasized  the  truth  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is 


Lesson  4  93 

within  you.  Thus  in  the  midst  of  great  excitement,  this  year  of 
popularity  was  spent.  Tours  through  Galilee  were  like  triumphal 
processions,  and  the  throngs  were  never  weary  of  crowding  on 
him  and  the  disciples.  Alas!  that  the  people  should  not  have 
better  appreciated  the  inwardness  of  his  mission,  but  should 
have  taken  in  only  that  which  was  temporal  and  not  eternal! 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  second  year  of  our  Lord's  life  called? 

2.  Where  was  it  for  the  most  part  spent? 

3.  What  two  chief  characteristics  marked  this  year? 

4.  Over  what  did  the  Master  show  his  power? 

5.  Name  the  peculiarities  of  his  healings. 

6.  Of  what  may  the  miracles  be  said  to  be  object-lessons? 

7.  Which   was   more  truly   important — his  miracles  or  his 
teaching?     Why? 

8.  What  two  characteristics  did  his  teaching  possess? 

9.  Why  did  he  make  so  much  use  of  the  parable? 

10.  Around  what  thought  did  most  of  the  Lord's  teaching  re- 
volve? 

11.  Why  did  the  disciples  so  misunderstand  him?   ^ 


Lesson  5 
The  Year  of  Opposition 

New  Testament  Division — Second  Period  (Continued) 


Mark 


Events 


Sea  of  Galilee.  Return  of  the 

Twelve,  etc 

Jesus  Walks  upon  the  Water 

Discourses,  etc 

Northward  Journey.    Region 

of  Tyre  and  Sidon  (i,  2).. 
Return  to  Eastern  Side  of  the 

Lake,  etc.  (3) 

The  Lake  Crossed.    A  Sign 

from    Heaven    Demanded 

(4) 

The  Lake  Recrossed.      The 

Leaven  of  the  Phari3ees(4) 
A   Blind  Man  Healed.     On 

Way  to  Bethsaida  (4) 

The  Confession  of  Peter,  etc. . 
Mount        Hermon.         The 

Transfiguration  (5) 

Healing    of    the    Demoniac 

Boy 

Prediction    of     Death     and 

Resurrection 

Arrival  at  Capernaum,  etc.  (6) 

Jerusalem.  Jesus  attends  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  (7, 8). 

Return  to  and  Final  Depar- 
ture from  Galilee  (9) 

Mission  of  the  Seventy,  etc... . 

Bethany.  Visit  to  Martha 
and  Mary  (10) 

Healing  of  a  Man  Bom 
Blind,  etc 

Jerusalem.  Jesus  at  the 
Feast  of  Dedication 

Retirement  to  Perea.  Dis- 
courses, Parables,  etc.  (11). 


Bethany.  Raising  oi  Lazarus 
(12,  13) 

Withdrawal  to  Ephraim  (14) 

Samaria.  Healing  of  the  Ten 
Lepers  (15) 

Discourses,  etc 


Matthew 


14  :  13-21 
14 : 22-36 
15  : 1-20 

IS  :  21-28 

15  :  29-38 

[16:4 
15  =39  to 

16 : 5-12 


i6  :  13-38 

17:1-13 

17 :  14-20 

17  :  22,23 
17 : 24  to 
[18  :  35 


Near  Jericho.  Healing  of 
Blind  Men  (16) 

Jericho.  Visit  to  Zaccheus, 
etc 

Bethany.  Anointing  by 
Mary  (i6) 


19 : 2  to 

20  :  28 


20 : 29-34 


6:30-44 
6 : 45-56 
7 : 1-23 

7  :  24-30 
7  :  31  to  8  : 9 

6 :  10-13 

8  :  14-21 

8  :  22-26 

;  :  2*,to9  :  I 

9 : 2-13 
9 : 14-29 

9  :  30-32 
9  :  33-50 


26  : 6-13 


10 : 3-45 
10  :  46-52 

14:3-9 


Luke 


9 : 18-27 

9 : 28-36 

9 : 37-43 

9  :  43-45 
9  :  46-50 


9  :  51-56 

10  : 1-37 

10  :  38-42 


II  :  1-13; 

[13  :  10  to 

[17:10 


17  : 11-19 
17  :  20  to 

[18  :  34 

18  :  35-43 
19  : 1-28 


John 


6 : 1-14 
6  :  15-21 
6 : 22-71 


[8:  59 
7  : 1  to 


[10:21 
9 : 1  to 


II :  1-46 
II  :  47-54 


[12  :  II 
55  to 


94 


Lesson  5 


95 


jfi^idon             J 

A  Aa^/^ 

PEREAN 

ministry]/         [\M 

y       Caesaria     )0[MT.HERMON 

TyreoT^        PhiHdpiY/\ 

/     ^     \    \ll     1 

*t 

)     cTpernau^^r^Bethyaida 
^Swt'    ^               Soy 

^ 

)\e>      Magdala 
1        \          ^    ^ 

'\JSea  of  Galilee 

^ 

Y     < 

Uj 

/         ^        i\ 

\ 

^ 

r                 ^           /         \ 
i                  \         /           \ 

^ 

1      V/    w       "^ 

«^ 

•  §                       r —^ xt*^. 

<^ 

/                  ^«V\X   ^ 

|S  A  M  A  R  1  A-y 

1  \"- 

N 

/ .JUp^~4i 

W"^ 

.^  i 

^r •X....c:l 

f/  /  ^\ 

)A^ 

f 

//         ^)  //^ 

/ 

JERUSALEM 

i/t^^'^^^^"'' 

/ 

Bethany,!  ^  | 

/  J 

U     D    E     A    /:| 

/ 

?  *«  ^ 

jT 

3  <t 

^ 

1  ^  1 

Copyright.  1SQ8,  by  John  D.  Watties  &  Co. 


The  figures  attached  to  the  journeys  refer  to  events 
mentioned  in  the  first  column  on  the  opposite  page. 


96 


The  Book 


TIME.— A.  D.  29  to  A.  D.  30. 

PLACES. — Capernaum,   Tyre   and  Sidon,    Decapolis,    Caesarea 
Philippi,  Mt.  Hermon,  Galilee,  Jerusalem,  Eastern  Bethsaida. 

The  Incomparable  Life  (Continued) 

138.  The  Year  of  Opposition. — Our  Lord's  immense  popular- 
ity waned  much  after  the  miracle  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thou- 
sand. This  miracle  stirred  the  people  to  the  very  height  of 
enthusiasm.  Now,  they  thought,  we  have  one  who  is  worthy 
to  be  our  king.  So  intense  was  this  conviction  that  they  wanted 
on  the  spot  to  proclaim  him  king,  and  raise  the  standard  of 
revolt  against  Rome  (John  6  :  15).  Even  the  disciples  seem  to 
have  been  infected  with  this  mad  thought,  for  he  "constrained" 
them  to  go  away  (Matt.  14  :  22).  On  the  day  following,  however, 
the  multitudes  found  him  again,  and  tried  to  persuade  him  to 
repeat  the  miracle  of  feeding.  This  he  refused  to  do.  He  tried 
to  make  them  understand  that  he  had  better  bread  for  them, 
even  the  bread  of  life.  But  what  they  really  wanted  was  only 
bakers'  bread.  They  thought  that  if  Moses  fed  the  people  for 
forty  years  for  nothing,  their  Messiah  should  do  even  better 
than  that.  So,  when  he  refused  to  be  to  them  a  "commissariat 
department, "  they  at  once  forsook  him.  "Many"  of  his  disciples 
"went  back"  at  that  time.  For  all  of  this  read  John  6  :  22- 
71.  At  this  moment  it  was  that  Peter  comes  so  grandly  to  the 
front  and  makes  his  confession.  When  we  see  Peter  later  on 
denying  his  Master,  let  us  bear  in  mind  his  bold  stand  taken 
at  this  juncture. 

139.  Opposed  by  the  Pharisees. — During  all  this  year  of 
popularity  the  Pharisees  were  dogging  the  footsteps  of  the 
Master,  as  spies  dog  the  criminal.  Of  these  Pharisees  there  were 
at  this  time,  in  Palestine,  about  6000.  They  were  the  eccle- 
siastical leaders  of  the  people,  and  this  makes  their  opposition  all 
the  more  ghastly.  They,  who  should  have  led  the  people  aright, 
led  them  astray.  The  grounds  of  their  opposition  were  manifold. 
Among  others  were  the  following: 

(i)  They  opposed  him  because  of  their  own  intense  pride. 
They  were  those  who  sought  glory  one  of  another,  and  so  they 


Lesson  5  97 

could  not  believe  in  him  (John  5  :  44).  His  aims  and  theirs  were 
so  widely  apart  that  they  could  not  even  understand  him.  To 
them  the  glory  that  cometh  from  God  had  no  attractiveness. 
So  they  opposed  him  who  was  meek  and  lowly. 

(2)  They  opposed  him  on  account  of  his  humble  origin.  He 
was  only  a  carpenter's  son,  and  so  to  them  was  of  no  account. 
Had  they  made  due  investigation,  they  would  have  found  that 
he  came  of  the  line  of  David,  their  great  king.  But  they  did 
nothing  of  the  sort  (Matt.  13  :  55-58).  It  was  an  offense  to 
them  that  he  came  from  among  the  lowly,  and  not  from  some 
of  the  aristocratic  families  of  the  land.  His  lack  of  training  in 
the  schools  seems  to  have  nettled  them,  so  that  they  exclaimed  in 
disgusted  surprise,  "How  knoweth  this  man  letters,  having 
never  learned?"     (John  7  :  15.) 

(3)  They  opposed  him  bitterly,  on  account  of  the  company 
that  he  kept.  In  contempt  they  said,  "This  man  receiveth 
sinners,  and  eateth  with  them"  (Luke  15  :  2).  And  they  con- 
tinually complained  that  he  was  a  friend  of  hated  publicans  and 
sinners.  They  could  not  understand  at  all  that  the  very  grandeur 
of  his  mission  consisted  just  in  this,  that  he  came  to  call  sinners 
to  repentance.  Their  complaint,  as  given  in  Luke  15  :  2,  called 
forth  from  him  three  of  the  grandest  parables  that  we  have, 
namely,  those  of  the  lost  silver,  the  lost  sheep,  and  the  lost  son. 
Especially  were  they  angered  because  he  had  taken  into  the 
number  of  his  disciples  the  hated  Matthew,  the  tax-gatherer. 

(4)  They  opposed  him  again  because  of  his  failure  to  observe 
the  Sabbath  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  themselves.  They  had 
made  the  day  one  of  weariness  to  the  flesh,  and  had  passed  by 
deeds  of  mercy  and  helpfulness.  So  when  he  healed  the  man  at 
the  Pool  of  Bethesda  and  the  man  born  blind,  on  the  Sabbath, 
they  took  counsel  how  they  might  destroy  him.  While  they 
themselves  would  pull  out  a  sheep  or  an  ox  from  the  pit  on  the 
Sabbath,  they  criticized  him  for  healing  men  on  that  day.  This 
brought  forth  from  him  stern  condemnation,  which,  of  course, 
did  not  mollify  their  feelings  toward  him. 

(5)  Furthermore,  they  opposed  him  because  he  declined  to 
observe  certain  minute  regulations  of  the  law  concerning  washing 
of  hands  and  the  like.     These  regulations  they  had  laid  on  men's 

7 


98  The  Book 

shoulders,  but  they  were  not  at  all  Divine  ordinances.  This  is 
why  he  said,  in  his  denunciation  of  them,  "they  bind  heavy 
burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoul- 
ders, but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with  their  finger" 
(Matt.  23  :  4).  (Read  the  whole  of  Matt.  23,  and  you  will  under- 
stand better  who  and  what  these  men  were  who  were  opposing 
the  Master.)  Once  more,  they  opposed  him  because  he  had  made 
such  friends  of  the  common  people  and  had  not  in  any  way  bowed 
down  to  them,  as  the  leaders  of  the  people.  The  common  people 
heard  him  gladly,  and  that  angered  them.  "This  multitude 
who  knoweth  not  the  law  are  cursed"  (John  7  :  49).  They  were 
furious  because  the  whole  world  seemed  to  have  gone  after  him, 
while  they  themselves  were  left  in  the  background.  This  was 
galling  to  their  innate  pride. 

(6)  What  made  their  opposition  all  the  worse  was  that  though 
they  could  not  deny  his  miracles,  they  went  so  far  as  to  ascribe 
them  to  the  agency  of  Satan.  "He  hath  a  demon,  and  is  mad: 
why  hear  ye  him?"  is  what  they  exclaimed  (John  10  :  20). 
The  Pharisees  said,  "By  the  prince  of  the  demons  casteth  he 
out  demons"  (Matt.  9  :  34).  So  they  dared  to  ascribe  to 
demoniac  possession  the  deeds  of  him  in  whom  the  Spirit  dwelt 
without  measure.  It  was  this  ascribing  to  the  spirit  of  darkness 
the  works  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  brought  forth  from  the 
Master  his  statement  concerning  the  unpardonable  sin.  It 
really  consisted  in  ascribing  to  the  Holy  Spirit  the  works  of 
the  prince  of  darkness. 

140.  Away  from  the  Crowds. — After  the  miracle  of  the 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  the  Master  was  mostly  in  out  of  the 
way  places,  such  as  Caesarea  Philippi,  Decapolis,  and  the  coasts 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  He  feared  lest  the  Galileans,  if  he  wrought 
more  miracles  among  them,  would  raise  insurrection,  and  so 
bring  on  him  the  power  of  the  Roman  government.  This  would 
have  ruined  his  mission  to  this  earth.  For  about  six  months 
after  the  miracle  of  the  five  thousand  he  tarried  in  Galilee  and 
its  immediate  vicinity  before  he  started  on  his  final  journey  to 
Jerusalem.  It  was  during  these  six  months  that  the  trans- 
figuration took  place. 


Lesson  5  99 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  event  closes  the  year  of  popularity? 

2.  What  action  did  the  people  wish  to  take  in  consequence 
of  the  miracle  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand? 

3.  What  sign  have  we  that  even  the  disciples  were  infected 
with  this  spirit? 

4.  What  did  the  people  wish  Jesus  to  do  on  the  following  day? 

5.  When  he  declined  what  did  the  people  do? 

6.  All  this  time,  what  was  the  attitude  of  the  Pharisees? 

7.  How  many  of  thesemen  were  there  at  this  time  in  Palestine? 

8.  Give  the  first  ground  of  their  opposition  to  him. 

9.  Give  the  second  ground  of  their  opposition, 

10.  Give  the  third  ground. 

1 1.  Give  the  fourth  and  the  fifth  ground  assigned  for  their  op- 
position. 

12.  To  what  did  they  ascribe  his  power  of  working  miracles? 

13.  Where  did  the  Master  stay  for  the  next  six  months? 

14.  What  marked  event  took  place  during  these  six  months? 

Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  1  to  5 

1.  How  long  an  interval  of  silence  between  Old  and  New 
Testament? 

2.  Give  the  limits  of  each  of  the  five  periods  of  New  Testament 
history. 

3.  How  may  the  life  of  Christ  be  divided? 

4.  What  was  the  threefold  nature  of  Jesus'  temptation? 

5.  What  is  meant  by  the  year  of  obscurity? 

6.  With  whom  did  Jesus  have  a  most  noteworthy  interview 
in  Jerusalem? 

7.  What  is  the  second  year  of  Christ's  life  called? 

8.  Where  was  it  for  the  most  part  spent? 

9.  Why  did  Jesus  use  parables  so  much? 

10.  Around  what  thought  did  most  of  his  teachings  revolve? 

11.  What  were  the  five  grounds  given  for  the  opposition  of  the 
Pharisees? 

12.  Where  did  the  Master  stay  for  six  months  after  the  year 
of  popularity? 


Lesson  6 
The  Closing  Week 

New  Testament  Division— Second  Period  (Continued) 


Events 


Triumphal  Entry  into  Jeru- 
salem  

Cursing  of  the  Fig  Tree 

Second  Cleansing  of  the 
Temple,  etc 


Fig  Tree  Withered  Away. 
Discourses,  etc 


The  Widow's  Two  Mites 

Greeks  Seek  to  See  Jesus 

Unbelief  of  the  Jews 

Prediction    of    the    Destruc- 
tion of  the  Temple 

Discoiirses,  Parables,  etc 


Conspiracy       between 
Rulers  and  Judas 


The  Last  Supper. 


the 


Departure  to  Gethsemane. 


Agony,  Betrayal,  etc 

Jerusalem.      Hearing  before 
Annas 


Night  Trial  before  Caiaphas., 
Three  Denials  of  Peter 


Formal  Condemnation  by  the 
Sanhedrin;  Jesus  led  to 
Pilate 


Remorse     and     Suicide     of 

Judas 

Trial  before  Pilate 

Jesus  before  Herod 

Condemned  by  Pilate 


Jesus     Led     Away     to     be 

Crucified 

Calvary.    The  Crucifixion,. . . 

Jesus  on  the  Cross 

Burial  of  Jesus 

Guard  at  the  Sepulcher 


Matthew 


21  :  i-ii 
21  :  i8,  19 


21  :  20-22 

21  :  23  to 
[23:39 


24  :  I,  2 
24  :  3  to 
[25  :  46 

26  : 1-5, 

[14-16 
26  :  17-35 

26  :  30 
[31-35] 
26  :  36-56 


26  :  57-68 
26  :  69-75 


27  :  3-10 
27  :  11-14 


27  :  31-34 
27  :  35-38 
27  : 39-56 
27  : 57-61 
27  : 62-66 


Mark 


II  :  i-ii 
II : 12-14 

II  :  15-19 

II  :  20-25 

11  :  2  7  to 
[12  :  40 

12  :  41-44 


13  :  I,  2 
13  : 3-37 


14  :  I,  2, 
[10,  II 
14  : 12-31 

14  :  26 
[27-31] 
14  :  32-52 


14 :  53-65 
14 :  66-72 


15  : 2-5 
15  : 6-19 


15  :  20-23 
15  :  24-28 
15  :  29-41 
15  :  42-47 


Luke 


19 : 29-44 

19  : 45-48; 
[21  :37,  38 

20  : 1-47 

21  :  1-4 


21  :  5,  6 
21  : 7-36 


22  :  1-6 

22  :  7-38 

22  :39 

22  :  40-53 


22  :  54, 63-65 
22  :  55-62 


22  :  66  to 
[23:1 


23  :  2-5 
23  : 6-12 
23  :  13-25 


23  :  26-33 

23  :  33-  34, 38 

23  :  35-49 

23  :  50-56 


John 


12  :  20-36 
12  :  37-50 


13  : 1  to 

[17    :  26 
18:1 

18  : 2-12 


18  : 13, 14 
[ic 

i5-i», 
[25-27 


[9-24 
18  : 15-18, 


18:28 


18  :  29-38 

18  :  39  to 
[19  :  16 

19  : 16, 17 
19  : 18-24 
19  125-30 
19  :  31-42 


TIME.— A.  D.  30. 

PLACES.— Bethany,  Jerusalem. 


Lesson  6 


lOI 


mile        ''\\j///>-^^\. 


MAP  OF  JERUSALEM  AND  VICINITY. 

With  the  Temple  as  a  center  a  circle  is  drawn  every 

quarter  mile,  to  assist  in  determining  distances. 


102  The  Book 

The  Incomparable  Life  (Continued) 

141.  The  Passion  Week. — Our  Lord  arrived  at  Bethany  on  his 
last  journey  to  Jerusalem  on  Friday  before  the  Passover.  On 
the  following  Sunday  came  the  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem. 
Reckoning  from  that  day  to  the  day  of  his  resurrection,  we  have 
eight  days.  How  important  these  days  were  in  the  minds  of 
the  evangelists  may  be  seen  from  the  amount  of  space  they  give 
to  the  narrative  of  these  days.  To  the  three  years  and  more  of 
his  public  ministry,  the  four  evangelists  give  in  all  55  chapters. 
But  to  the  eight  days  spoken  of,  they  give  30  chapters.  It  is 
most  significant  that  had  they  told  the  story  of  his  public  ministry 
in  as  great  detail,  it  would  have  occupied  over  4000  chapters. 

Again,  if  the  story  of  our  Lord's  whole  life  had  been  told  at  as 
great  length  as  that  of  the  last  eight  days,  we  should  have  over 
45,000  chapters.  This  would  make  more  than  37  Bibles  of  the 
size  of  our  present  Bible.     This  is  most  significant. 

142.  Bear  in  mind  that  the  ecclesiastics  had  by  this  time 
determined  on  his  death.  But  they  did  not  want  that  to  take 
place  on  the  feast  day,  lest  there  should  be  an  uproar  among  the 
people,  who  believed  on  him.  That  is,  they  were  afraid  of  a 
rescue  (Matt.  26  :  5).  Yet  it  did  come  on  the  feast  day.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  as  follows: 

(i)  His  triumphal  entry.  The  jubilation  among  the  people 
angered  them.  They  perceived  that  the  people  welcomed  him, 
and  that  they  prevailed  against  him  not  at  all.  Of  course  this 
was  stinging  to  their  pride,  and  they  feared  the  outcome  of  this 
popular  enthusiasm. 

(2)  They  were  further  angered  by  their  failure  to  discomfit 
him  in  argument  in  the  very  presence  of  the  multitude.  Their 
effort  to  entangle  him  in  his  talk,  as  shown  in  Matthew  22  :  15-46, 
was  a  total  failure,  and  they  knew  that  the  people  rejoiced  at 
their  discomfiture.  This  was  most  galling  to  their  pride  as 
religious  leaders  of  the  nation.  Add  to  this  the  terrific  denuncia- 
tion that  Jesus  poured  forth  on  them,  as  told  in  Matthew  23:1-39, 
and  bear  in  mind  that  this  was  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people, 
and  you  have  an  explanation  of  the  resentment  on  their  part. 

(3)  Just  about  at  this  juncture  Judas  came  with  his  offer, 
which  to  them  must  have  seemed  most  timely.     He  knew  where 


Lesson  6  103 

he  could  find  the  Master  when  the  people  would  be  absent,  and 
they  relied  on  their  influence  with  Pilate  to  carry  their  scheme 
through  swiftly,  so  that  there  would  be  no  chance  of  any  rescue. 
So,  with  this  combination  of  circumstances,  they  determined  to 
go  ahead  in  spite  of  the  fact  of  the  approaching  Passover. 

143.  The  Trial. — This  was  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  it  was 
an  ecclesiastical  trial.  It  was  before  Annas  (informal),  then 
before  Caiaphas,  and  the  Sanhedrin.  Here  the  chdrges  were  all 
ecclesiastical.  They  were  that  he  had  spoken  against  the  temple; 
that  he  had  broken  the  Sabbath,  and  that  he  was  guilty  of 
blasphemy  in  calling  himself  the  Son  of  God.  These  charges 
they  could  not  prove,  but  that  made  no  difference,  for  the  issue 
was  already  determined  in  their  minds.  So  they  condemned 
him  to  death.  But  they  had  no  power  under  the  Roman  govern- 
ment to  inflict  the  death  penalty.  So  they  had  to  take  him 
before  the  Roman  Governor.  This  brings  us  to  the  second 
trial.  This  was  political.  Here  the  charges  were  entirely 
different  from  those  on  which  they  had  condemned  him  to 
death.  Now  they  charged  him  with  forbidding  to  pay  taxes, 
and  with  setting  himself  up  to  be  a  king,  in  rivalry  with  Caesar. 
All  this  was  false,  and  they  knew  it,  but  they  cared  nothing  for 
that,  so  long  as  they  could  persuade  Pilate  to  give  them  the 
desired  verdict.  Pilate  repeatedly  declared  him  innocent,  as 
did  also  Herod,  to  whom  Pilate  sent  him.  But  the  ecclesiastics 
would  take  nothing  but  his  death  as  their  right.  So  at  last  Pilate 
weakly  yielded,  and  gave  sentence  as  they  desired. 

144.  The  scene  at  the  cross  surpasses  all  description.  Note 
who  were  there.  Gentiles  were  there  in  the  form  of  Roman 
soldiers.  Jews  were  there  in  the  persons  of  the  ecclesiastics, 
who  reviled  on  the  cross  him  who  for  so  long  had  gone  about 
doing  good.  Even  at  this  time  they  bore  witness  to  his  power, 
crying  out,  "He  saved  others;  himself  he  cannot  save."  Had 
they  put  it,  "He  saved  others,  himself  he  will  not  save,"  they 
would  have  been  strictly  within  the  truth.  For  he  could  have 
saved  himself,  since  it  lay  within  his  power  to  call  for  twelve 
legions  of  angels,  and  they  would  have  responded  at  once.  Then 
where  would  the  chief  priests  or  even  the  Roman  soldiers  have 
been? 


I04  The  Book 

145.  There,  too,  were  the  Apostles,  who  were  filled  with  despair 
at  the  fate  of  him  who  they  had  hoped  would  redeem  Israel. 
Now  their  hope  perished,  and  they  gave  way  to  dark  despair. 
All  his  acquaintances  from  Galilee  were  there,  the  women  beating 
their  breasts  for  sorrow.  Criminals  were  there  as  his  companions 
in  agony  and  shame.  Yes,  the  scene  at  the  cross  was  the  most 
dramatic  that  the  world  had  ever  seen.  For  the  time,  the 
powers  of  darkness  seem  to  have  triumphed,  and  the  best  man 
in  the  world  was  nailed  to  the  accursed  cross. 

146.  The  Penitent  Robber. — Yet  even  here  a  sudden  ray  of 
light  divine  breaks  the  darkness,  and  in  the  penitent  robber  we 
have  the  most  wonderful  record  of  the  triumph  of  faith  that  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  How  he  was  led  out  into  the  light  of  faith 
just  at  the  moment  that  the  faith  of  all  others  was  eclipsed  we 
cannot  tell,  but  the  fact  remains.  Note,  all,  even  the  Apostles, 
had  given  up  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  But  just  at  this 
moment,  like  the  sun  bursting  through  the  dark  thunder-cloud, 
we  see  the  faith  of  this  robber  emerge,  resplendent,  for  he 
recognized  in  the  crucified  man  next  him  his  "Lord."  He  also 
recognizes  in  him  a  king,  for  he  speaks  to  him  concerning  his 
kingdom,  to  which  he  is  about  to  go.  More  than  this.  The 
robber  believes  that  it  will  be  well  with  him  in  the  next  world  if 
his  dying  companion  in  pain  remembers  him,  and  he  also  believes 
that  he  will  be  willing  to  remember  him.  What  a  most  wonder- 
ful exhibition  of  faith  this  was,  under  the  circumstances.  At 
the  moment  when  the  powers  of  darkness  were  most  triumphant 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  also  most  clearly  shown.  And 
in  response  to  all  this  faith  comes  the  reassuring  reply,  "To-day 
shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise." 

147.  At  the  cross,  too,  we  may  see  the  epitome  of  all  men  in 
their  relation  to  sin  and  death,  for  while  all  three  of  the  victims 
that  day  were  brought  to  the  cross  by  sin,  they  stood  in  very 
different  relationships  to  sin.  See,  all  died  because  of  sin.  But 
the  impenitent  robber  died  in  his  sin.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
penitent  robber  that  day  died  to  sin  Jesus  could  do  neither  of 
these  things,  for  he  had  no  sin.  But  that  day  he  died  for  sin. 
This  truth  is  set  forth  in  the  accompanying  diagram,  and  is 
most  suggestive.  None  but  Jesus  can  die  for  sin,  but  all  sinners 
must  either  die  in  sin  or  die  to  sin. 


Lesson  6 

HE  DIED 
IN  FOR  TO 

t  t  t 


105 


SIN 


Test  Questions 

1.  When  did  our  Lord  arrive  at  Bethany? 

2.  How  do  we  know  that  the  events  of  these  eight  days  were 
of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  minds  of  the  evangelists? 

3.  Why  did  the  ecclesiastics  not  want  to  put  Jesus  to  death 
on  the  feast  day? 

4.  Give  the  first  reason  why  his  death  came  on  a  feast  day. 

5.  Give  the  second  reason  for  this. 

6.  Give  the  third  reason  for  this  action. 

7.  State  in  what  respect  the  trial  of  Jesus  was  twofold. 

8.  What  were  the  charges  in  the  ecclesiastical  trial? 

9.  What  were  the  charges  in  the  political  trial? 

10.  What  was  the  verdict  of  both  Pilate  and  Herod  about 
Jesus? 

11.  State  in  detail  who  were  present  at  the  crucifixion. 

12.  Give  the  story  of  the  wonderful  triumph  of  faith  on  the 
part  of  the  penitent  robber. 

13.  What  was  the  relationship  of  the  three  crucified  men  to  sin? 


Lesson  7 
The  Forty  Days 

New  Testament  Division— Second  Period  (Concluded) 


Events 

Matthew 

Mark 

Luke 

1         ^ 

JOHN 

The  Resurrection    Morning. 

Women  Visit  the  Sepulcher. 
Peter    and    John    Visit    the 

Sepulcher 

Appearance         to         Mary 

28  : 1-8 

16 : 1-8 

24 :  i-ii 
24:12 

20  :  1,2 
20 : 3-10 

28  : 9, 10 
28  :  11-15 

X  Cor.  IS  :  5 

16  :  p-ii 

16  :  12,  13 
16  :  14-18 

Second  Appearance 

Report  of  the  Guard 

Appearance  to  Peter;  Walk 

24  :  13-35 
24 :  36-43 

Appearance  to  Ten  Disciples . 
Appearance  to  Eleven  Disci- 
ples.       .  .    . 

20  :  19-25 
20  :  26-29 

Sea  of  Galilee.      Appearance 

28:16 

28  :  16-20 

Acts  1 : 3-12 

Appearance  to  Many  Disci- 
ples  

I  Cor.  IS  :  6 
16  : 19, 20 

24  :  44-53 

Final    Appearance;     Ascen- 
sion  

20  : 30, 31; 
[21  :2s 

TIME.— A.  D.  30. 

PLACE. — Jerusalem,  Galilee,   Mt.  of  Olives. 

The  Incomparable  Life  (Concluded) 

148.  The  Forty  Days. — As  it  is  unfortunately  customary  on 
the  part  of  certain  modern  critics  to  deny  the  physical  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Lord,  and  to  maintain  that  all  that  we  know  about 
him  after  his  resurrection  is  that  he  was  alive,  it  seems  needful 
to  give  a  whole  lesson  to  these  forty  days.  The  critics  above 
referred  to  claim  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus  expected  his  physical 
resurrection,  and,  being  ignorant  and  unlearned,  they  were  easily 
deceived  by  the  reports  of  the  women.  In  reply  to  this  unwar- 
ranted claim  the  following  truths  must  be  insisted  on. 
106 


Lesson  7  107 

149.  First  truth.  The  disciples  never  expected  Jesus  to  die, 
least  of  all  on  the  cross.  Indeed,  the  general  expectation  was  that 
the  Messiah  must  abide  forever  (John  12  :  34).  So  when  he 
spoke  of  his  death,  they  did  not  even  understand  what  he  meant. 
(See  Mark  9  :  32;  Luke  9  :45;  Luke  18  :  34.)  At  one  time 
when  Jesus  spoke  of  all  this,  Peter  even  ventured  to  rebuke  him 
(Matt.  16  :  22). 

150.  Second  truth.  From  the  above  it  is  most  apparent  that  they 
never  even  thought  of  a  resurrection  (see  Mark  9  :  10).  When 
they  saw  him  die,  and  knew  from  the  physical  signs  of  the  blood 
and  water  that  he  was  dead,  they  at  once  gave  up  all  hope  in 
him  as  the  expected  Messiah.  This  is  apparent  from  the  remark 
of  the  two  to  the  Master  as  they  were  going  to  Emmaus  (Luke 
24  :  21).  Their  remark  implies  that  now  they  had  given  up  any 
such  hope.  But  more  than  this.  Had  they  thought  of  any 
resurrection,  would  they  not  have  remained  near  the  garden 
where  his  body  was  laid?  Surely  John  and  the  Master's  mother 
would  not  have  abandoned  that  garden  for  Jerusalem.  Nor 
would  they  have  prepared  spices  for  his  final  entombment  had 
they  had  any  reasonable  hope  of  his  resurrection.  What  took 
the  women  to  the  tomb  on  that  Easter  morning  was  not  any 
remotest  hope  that  they  might  find  him  alive,  but  only  the  com- 
pletion of  plans  for  his  final  burial.  All  this  is  apparent  from 
the  unvarnished  narrative  of  all  of  the  evangelists.  Rightly  read, 
the  narrative  reveals  the  one  fact  that  they  had  not  the  least 
hope  that  they  would  ever  see  him  alive  in  this  world. 

151.  Third  truth.  When  the  tomb  was  found  empty  on  that 
Easter  morning,  even  that  did  not  awaken  any  thought  that  the 
Lord  had  risen.  This  is  proved  by  the  whole  story  of  Mary  on 
that  day  (John  20),  All  her  thought  was,  where  is  the  body? 
Even  when  Jesus  appeared  to  Mary,  she  did  not  recognize  him 
at  first,  so  far  was  it  from  her  thought  that  he  could  be  living. 
And  when  the  women  reported  to  the  disciples  that  they  had  seen 
him  alive,  their  words  seemed  to  the  Apostles  as  "idle  talk" 
(Luke  24  :  11).  So  when  Peter  and  John  ran  to  the  tomb  and 
found  not  his  body,  they  simply  believed  that  it  had  been  taken 
away  by  some  one,  and  not  at  all  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead, 
for  as  yet  they  knew  not  the  truth  that  he  must  rise  (John  20  ;  9). 


io8  The  Book 

152.  Fourth  truth.  When  the  women  were  convinced  that 
the  Lord  was  really  risen,  still  the  men  remained  unconvinced. 
The  two  on  their  way  to  Emmaus  did  not  recognize  him,  for 
they  never  thought  that  it  could  be  he.  Peter  seems  to  have 
been  convinced  when  the  Lord  appeared  to  him,  but  in  that  upper 
chamber,  when  they  all  (excepting  Thomas)  saw  him,  still  they 
would  not  believe  that  it  was  really  he,  but  thought  that  they 
saw  a  spirit  (Luke  24  :  36-40),  It  took  physical  demonstration 
to  prove  to  these  men  that  he  was  really  in  their  presence.  No, 
they  were  not  the  "credulous"  men  that  the  critics  would  have 
us  believe. 

153.  Fifth  truth.  But  as  yet  Thomas  would  not  believe,  and 
a  whole  week  of  arguing  on  the  part  of  the  other  disciples  did  not 
move  him.  It  took  the  personal  appearance  of  the  Master 
himself  to  convince  Thomas  that  the  others  had  not  been  deceived 
(John  20  :  24-29).  All  this  is  proof  positive  that  the  critics  are 
wrong  in  this  matter  and  that  the  evangelists  are  telling  the 
simple  truth  about  the  physical  resurrection  of  our  blessed  Lord. 

154.  Sixth  truth.  If  the  body  had  not  risen,  but  was  still  in 
the  grave,  it  would  have  been  easy  for  the  Jews  to  disprove  the 
story  of  the  physical  resurrection.  All  they  would  have  had  to  do 
was  to  say,  "Here  we  have  the  body,  and  to  talk  of  resurrection 
under  these  circumstances  is  absurd."  The  concocted  falsehood 
(Matt.  28  :  11-15)  shows  that  the  body  was  not  in  the  grave. 
But  for  the  disciples  to  steal  it  while  the  Roman  soldiers  were 
on  guard  was  absolutely  impossible.  This  is  why  money  had  to 
be  given  to  the  soldiers,  and  they  made  sure  that  Pilate  would 
be  "fixed"  also,  and  so  the  soldiers  be  saved  from  punishment. 

155.  The  Conclusion. — No,  the  arguments  offered  to  convince 
us  that  Jesus'  body  did  not  rise  are  all  based  on  unbelief,  and 
buttressed  by  false  presentation  of  the  whole  case.  To  all  these 
we  simply  respond,  "Now  IS  Christ  risen  from  the  dead." 

The  appearances  of  the  Master,  given  in  their  order,  so  far  as 
we  can  arrange  it,  are  as  follows: 

1.  To  Mary  at  the  tomb  (John  20:  11- 18). 

2.  To  the  women  as  they  were  returning  from  the  empty 
tomb  (Matt.  28  :  9). 

3.  To  Peter  (Luke  24  :  34). 


Lesson  7  109 


4.  To  the  two  walking  to  Emmaus  (Luke  24  :  13-33). 

5.  To  the  ten  in  the  upper  chamber  (Luke  24  :  36-48). 

6.  To  the  eleven  in  the  upper  chamber  (John  20  :  26-29), 

7.  To  James  (i  Cor.  15  :  7). 

8.  To  the  seven,  at  the  Sea  of  Galilee  (John  21  :  1-25). 

9.  To  the  five  hundred  brethren  in  a  mountain  in  Galilee 
(i  Cor.  15  :6). 

10.  To  the  Apostles  in  Jerusalem  (Acts  i). 

To  these  may  be  added  his  appearances  to  Paul,  to  Stephen, 
and  to  John  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos. 

156.  The  Ascension. — At  last  we  come  to  the  final  scene. 
We  are  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  is  there,  and  with  him  the 
eleven.  As  he  blesses  them,  lo,  he  begins  to  ascend.  In  rapt 
amazement  they  gaze  on  his  disappearing  figure.  Then  a  cloud 
intervenes,  and  he  is  lost  to  their  sight.  Still  they  gaze,  hoping 
once  more  to  see  him,  when  they  are  aware  that  two  strangers 
are  with  them.  These  men  say  to  them  that  this  same  Jesus  will 
return  again  in  like  manner  as  they  have  just  seen  him  go.  Satis- 
fied with  this  message,  they  return  to  Jerusalem,  there  to  tarry 
until  they  be  endued  with  that  power  of  which  the  Master  had 
just  spoken  to  them.  How  this  power  came  and  the  results  of 
its  coming  we  shall  see  in  the  lesson  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What    explanation  of    the  resurrection  of    the  Lord  do 
some  critics  give? 

2.  In  reply  to  this  false  contention,  give  the  first  truth. 

3.  Give  the  second  truth. 

4.  Give  the  third  truth. 

5.  Give  the  fourth  truth. 

6.  Give  the  fifth  truth. 

7.  Give  the  sixth  truth. 

8.  Mention  in  their  order  the  various  appearances  of  our  Lord 
to  his  disciples. 

9.  What  other  appearances  may  we  add  to  these? 

10.  Describe  the  final  ascent  on  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

1 1 .  After  his  ascension,  where  did  the  Apostles  go? 

12.  For  what  did  they  then  wait  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem? 


Lesson  8 
The  Early  Church 

New  Testament  Division— Third  and  Fourth  Periods 

The  Pivotal  Events  of  the  Book  of  Acts. — Pentecost — 
the  bestowal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  2  :  1-47).  The  healing 
power  given,  as  well  as  spiritual  power  (Acts  3:1-11; 
Acts  5  :  12-16).  Persecution  came  to  the  disciples  (Acts 
4  :  1-22;  Acts  5  :  18).  The  great  persecution  (Acts  6  :  i 
to  7  :  60).  The  conversion  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  (Acts  9  : 
1-22;  Acts  22  :  1-21;  Acts  26  :  1-20).  The  gospel  given 
to  the  Gentiles  (Acts  10  :  3  to  11  :  48).  Missionary  work 
organized  (Acts  13  :  1-3).     The  Council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts 

15  :  1-31.)     The  gospel  crossed  from  Asia  to  Europe  (Acts 

16  : 9).  The  first  preaching  at  Philippi  (Acts  16  :  14, 
15).  Lydia  the  first  convert.  (The  life  of  Paul  is  treated 
more  fully  in  the  next  lesson.) 

TIME.— A.  D.  30  to  A.  D.  51. 

PLACES. — Jerusalem,   Damascus,   Caesarea,  Tarsus    and   Cili- 

cia,   Troas,   Philippi. 
SIGNIFICANCE   OF  EVENTS.— Here  the  gospel  ceases  to  be 

local  in  character  and  becomes  universal — held  no  longer 

by  national  or  geographical  boundaries. 

Development  of  the  Early  Church 
157.  Importance  of  the  Book. — The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  Is 
the  most  important  book  in  the  New  Testament,  for  if  we  were 
to  lose  one  of  the  Gospels,  we  should  still  have  three  left,  and  if 
we  lost  one  epistle,  the  others  would  still  be  ours.  But  if  we  had 
no  "Acts,"  we  should  be  left  with  no  story  of  the  ascension, 
(except  Luke  24  151)  and  the  next  record  would  be  Paul's  letter 
to  the  Thessalonians.  The  whole  story  of  Pentecost,  and  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel,  would  be  lacking,  and,  indeed,  we  should 
know  nothing  of  the  writer  of  the  above-named  epistle,  nor  how 
he  came  to  write  to  the  church  in  Thessalonica.  We  should  have 
absolutely  nothing  to  bridge  over  the  gap  between  the  ascension 
and  this  letter. 


Lesson  8 


III 


112  The  Book 

158.  In  the  Acts  there  are  six  pivotal  events,  on  which  all  the 
rest  of  the  story  turns.  Master  these,  and  the  whole  story  is 
clear.     These  events  we  give  as  follows: 

(i)  Pentecost.  This  means  power.  It  is  suggestive  that  the 
Greek  word  translated  power  (Acts  i  :  8)  is  the  one  from  which 
our  word  dynamite  comes.  Bear  in  mind  the  situation  at  the 
ascension.  Here  were  fishermen  and  common  individuals,  to 
whom  was  committed  the  carrying  of  the  gospel  to  all  the  world, 
yet  they  had  neither  education,  nor  wealth,  nor  social  position, 
nor  political  influence.  What  an  impossible  task!  What  they 
needed,  therefore,  more  than  anything  else,  was  power  from  above. 
It  was  this  that  Pentecost  gave  them,  and  that,  too,  in  such 
measure  that  Peter  won,  in  one  day,  more  disciples  for  his  Master 
than  the  Master  himself  had  won  in  three  and  a  half  years. 
Thus  the  church  was  founded,  and  before  long  numbered  in 
Jerusalem  over  ten  thousand  persons. 

(2)  Persecution.  At  first  persecution  might  seem  to  be  a 
disaster  to  the  church.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  a  great  blessing. 
There  was  danger  that  the  believers  in  Jerusalem  would  forget 
that  they  were  told  to  "begin"  at  Jerusalem,  but  were  to  go  to 
Judea  and  Samaria,  and  as  far  as  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Up  to 
the  time  of  the  persecution  that  arose  about  Stephen  there  is 
no  sign  that  the  church  did  anything  outside  of  the  City  of  David. 
So,  in  the  providence  of  God,  the  cloud  of  persecution  broke  on 
them  and  they  were  scattered  abroad.  Most  fortunate  it  is 
that  then  they  did  their  duty,  for  we  read  that  the  disciples 
(except  the  Apostles  who  stayed  in  Jerusalem),  went  everywhere 
"preaching  the  Word"  (Acts  8  :  1-4).  This  event  marked  the 
beginning  of  that  spread  of  the  gospel  that  has  never  ceased  from 
that  day  to  this,  and  never  will  cease,  until  the  final  victory  is 
won.  Through  persecution  it  was  that  God  stirred  up  the 
disciples,  and  forced  them  to  do  work  that  they  seem,  in  their 
great  joy  over  the  truth,  to  have  neglected. 

(3)  The  con-version  of  Saul.  By  far  the  most  dangerous  enemy 
of  the  infant  church  was  Saul  of  Tarsus.  How  he  worked,  and 
how  the  church  feared  him,  we  shall  see  more  in  detail  in  our  next 
lesson.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  had  he  continued  in  his  first 
course,  the  whole  history  of  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  would  have 


Lesson  8 


113 


been  very  different  from  what  it  was.  From  the  standpoint  of 
the  truth  of  God,  next  to  Moses,  Paul  was  the  greatest  man  who 
has  ever  lived.  To  have  him  on  the  side  of  the  truth,  instead  of 
against  it,  was  a  great  thing  for  the  church  of  that  day  and  for  the 
church  since  that  day.  That  which  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
in  the  conversion  of  Saul  is  the  fact  that  Jesus  himself  appeared 
to  him,  and  in  this  way  gave  him,  as  it  were,  the  Master's  own 
sanction  to  act  as  one  of  the  Apostles.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
two  most  important  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  are  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  and  the  conversion  of  Saul  of 
Tarsus. 

(4)  The  tearing  down  of  the  middle  wall  of  partition.  This  took 
place  in  Caesarea,  and  to  Peter  was  given  the  great  privilege  of 
tearing  this  wall  down.  What  was  this  wall?  (Eph.  2:1.^  It 
was  one  divinely  built  centuries  before.  Up  to  the  experience  at 
Caesarea  (Acts  10)  no  Gentile  might  come  into  the  church  of  God, 
excepting  by  way  of  the  Gate  of  the  Proselyte.  He  must  submit 
to  Jewish  ordinances  and  customs  before  he  could  be  one  of  the 
Covenant  People.  The  Apostles  themselves  had  no  thought  that 
the  Gentiles  ever  could  come  into  the  church  excepting  in  the 
usual  way.  Without  circumcision,  they  believed  no  man  could 
be  acceptable  to  God.  Now  the  time  had  come  when  this 
"middle  wall"  must  come  down,  and  to  Peter  was  given  the 
high  privilege  of  accomplishing  this  task.  But  to  convince 
Peter  that  the  command  was  of  Divine  origin,  it  was  needful  for 
God  to  perform  a  double  miracle,  the  like  of  which  had  never  been 
seen.  Therefore  to  Peter  on  the  housetop  at  Joppa,  and  to 
Cornelius  the  centurion,  in  Caesarea,  God  gave  a  vision,  and  when 
the  two  visions  were  brought  together,  they  were  found  to  match 
exactly.  Then  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  to  the  men  at  Cornelius' 
house,  Peter  was  convinced  that  the  middle  wall  was  down,  and 
that  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  the  Jews  the  door  w'^s  open  on 
condition  of  faith  in  the  Messiah.  In  this  event  and  that  of  the 
church  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  Peter  opened  the  door  of 
the  church  to  3000  Jews,  we  see,  in  part  at  least  (and  in  large 
part),  the  fulfilment  of  "the  power  of  the  keys"  (Matt.  16  :  19). 
To  exaggerate  the  importance  of  this  breaking  down  of  the 
middle  wall  is  not  possible,  for  had  not  that  been  done,  we  in 
8 


114  The  Book 

this  day  would  still  have  to  become  Jews  before  we  could  be 
members  of  God's  church  on  earth.  This  action  by  Peter  was 
afterward  endorsed  by  the  Council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  15:  i— 31), 
at  which  the  apostle  rehearsed  his  experiences  in  Caesarea. 

(5)  The  organizing  of  missionary  work  by  tlw  church.  This 
was  done  in  Antioch,  as  seen  in  Acts  13  :  1-3.  In  this  action, 
guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  church  at  Antioch  became  the 
pioneer  church  in  missionary  labor.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  chose  for  this  missionary  work,  not  the  inferior 
members  of  the  church,  but  their  very  best  men.  What  an 
example  to  the  church  of  later  days!  To  this  day  we  need  not 
the  lesser  lights  for  missionary  work,  but  the  great  lights  of  the 
church.  Let  the  lesser  lights  burn  at  home,  but  the  great  lights 
be  sent  into  the  outer  darkness  to  illuminate  that.  This  is  the 
Divine  plan. 

(6)  The  crossing  of  the  gospel  from  Asia  to  Europe.  This  took 
place  from  Troas  to  Philippi.  It  was  in  accord  with  the  Divine 
plan  (Acts  16  .-9).  This  army  of  invasion  consisted  of  only 
four  men,  Paul,  Silas,  Timothy,  and  Luke.  A  feeble  force,  as 
viewed  from  the  merely  human  standpoint;  but  a  potent 
force  viewed  from  the  Divine  position.  The  story  is  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  in  all  history.  Noteworthy  it  is  that  in  Europe 
the  first  two  converts  were  women — Lydia  was  the  first,  and  the 
poor  woman  possessed  of  a  spirit  of  divination  the  second 
(Acts  1 6) .  This  woman  was  under  the  control  of  a  syndicate  of 
men,  who  made  gain  from  her  misfortune.  In  these  two  cases 
we  see  a  kind  of  prophecy  of  the  work  that  the  gospel  does  for 
womankind.  All  other  religions  degrade  woman.  Only  the 
Christian  religion  puts  her  where  God  originally  placed  her,  by 
man's  side,  as  his  helpmate. 

Alas  !  soon  half  of  this  army  of  invasion  finds  itself  in  prison 
on  account  of  its  beneficent  work.  Yet  even  here  they  make  a 
conquest,  and  before  morning  the  jailor,  who  put  them  in  the 
inner  prison,  is  himself  a  prisoner  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  An 
army  with  such  a  spirit  as  Paul  and  Silas  had  is  practically 
invincible.  Thus,  the  gospel  started  on  its  westward  way, 
destined  in  due  time  to  reach  these  western  shores,  then  as  yet 
unknown  to  the  eastern  world. 


Lesson  8  115 

Test  Questions 

1.  Why  is  the   Acts  of  the  Apostles   the  most   important 
book  in  the  New  Testament? 

2.  Name  the  first  of  the  six  pivotal  events  recorded  in  the 
Acts. 

3.  To  what  danger  was  the  early  church  exposed? 

4.  About  how  many  members  did  the  church  in  Jerusalem 
have  before  the  persecution  broke  out? 

5.  Name  the  second  pivotal  event  in  the  Acts? 

6.  How  did  the  scattered  disciples  show  their  great  loyalty 
to  the  truth? 

7.  Give  the  third  pivotal  event  in  the  Acts? 

8.  What  fact   in  the  conversion    of  Saul   is  of  the  utmost 
importance? 

9.  Give  the  fourth  pivotal  event. 

10.  What  was  this  middle  wall  of  partition? 

11.  What  was  there  remarkable  in    the  miracles   that  God 
wrought  to  convince  Peter  that  he  was  to  tear  the  wall  down  ? 

1 2.  Name  the  fifth  pivotal  event  in  the  Acts. 

13.  What  kind  of  men  did  the  Holy  Spirit  choose  for  mission- 
aries? 

14.  Give  the  sixth  pivotal  event  in  the  Acts. 

15.  What    significance   is  there   in   the   first  conversions  in 
Europe? 

16.  What  notable  victory  did  Paul  and  Silas  gain  in  prison? 


Lesson  9 
The  Life  of  Paul 

New  Testament  Division— Third  Period  (Concluded) 

PRINCIPAL  EVENTS 

His  Early  Life. — Born  (as  Saul)  at  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia  (Acts 
22  :  3),  the  date  of  his  birth  not  being  known.  His  trade 
was  that  of  tentmaking  (Acts  18  13),  and  this  he  found 
useful  later  (i  Cor.  4:12).  He  was  educated  under  Gama- 
liel, a  noted  Rabbi  (Acts  22  :  3;  5  :  34). 

His  First  Appearance  in  the  gospel  story  is  at  the  stoning  of 
Stephen  (Acts  8  :  3)  and  he  became  an  active  persecutor  of 
Christians  (Acts  9  :  i;  26  :  10,  11;  9  :  13). 

His  Conversion  took  place  on  the  road  to  Damascus  (Acts 
9  :  1-22;  22  :  3-13;  26  :  9-18).  He  went  to  Arabia  (Gal. 
I  :  15-17)  and  worked  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  (Gal.  1:21).  He 
was  brought  by  Barnabas  to  Antioch  (Acts  11  :  25,  26)  and 
remained  there  a  year. 

His    First    Missionary   Journey  began    at    Antioch    (Acts 

13  •  i~3)  ^^^  is  described  in  Acts  13  to  Acts  15  :  35,  when  a 
return  to  Antioch  was  made.  He  was  stoned  at  Lystra 
(Acts   14  :  8-19)   and    made  a  number  of  disciples  (Acts 

14  :  20-24). 

His  Second  Missionary  Journey  began  at  Antioch,  where  he 
and  Barnabas  disagreed  (Acts  15  :  36-40)  and  is  recorded 
in  Acts  15  to  18  :  22.  Timothy  joined  him  (Acts  16  :  i- 
3),  he  heard  the  call  of  need  from  Macedonia;  crossing 
to  Europe  (Acts  16  :  8-10)  he  planted  churches  (Acts 
17  :  1-9;  18  :  1-17)  and  again  returned  to  Antioch, 

His  Third  Missionary  Journey  began  at  Antioch,  and  is 
recorded  in  Acts  18  :  23  to  Acts  21  :  26.  It  included  a  stay 
of  three  months  in  Greece,  and  ended  at  Jerusalem,  where 
he  made  a  report  of  his  Gentile  ministry  (Acts  21  :  15-26). 

His  Voyage  to  Rome  began  with  arrest  in  Jerusalem  (Acts 
21  :  27-36).  A  plot  to  kill  Paul  failed  (Acts  23  :  12-14). 
116 


Lesson  9  117 

He  was  sent  to  Caesarea  and  appeared  before  the  Roman 
rulers  (Acts  24,   25,   26),  remaining  there  over  two  years 
(Acts    24  :  27).     He    suffered    shipwreck    (Acts   27  :  1-44), 
but  reached  Rome  at  last  (Acts  28  :  1-3 1). 
His  Sufferings  are  outlined  in  2  Corinthians  1 1  :  25-28. 

TIME.— About  A.  D.  2  to  A.  D.  63. 

PLACES. — Tarsus,  Jerusalem,  Arabia,  Damascus,  Antioch, 
Cyprus,  Perga,  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra,  Derbe, 
Malta,  Galatia,  Troas,  Corinth,  Athens,  Caesarea,  Rome. 
(Details  of  Paul's  journeys  are  given  in  the  Appendix.) 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  EVENTS.— Paul  bequeathed  to  his  Chris- 
tian posterity  the  record  of  a  life  unreservedly  consecrated 
to  service  and  a  series  of  letters  which  set  forth  the  philosophy 
of  Christian  belief  in  a  manner  that  for  simplicity  and  depth 
has  never  been  surpassed. 

Paul — Persecutor  and  Preacher 

159.  His  Birthplace. — Saul  was  born  in  Tarsus  in  Cilicia, 
which  was  one  of  the  university  cities  of  that  day.  Unlike  John 
the  Baptist,  therefore,  Saul  was  a  city-bred  man,  and  this  urban 
influence  is  seen  in  the  illustrations  of  truth  that  he  loves  to  use. 
They  deal  largely  with  city  life.  The  influence,  too,  of  a  city  is 
apparent  in  his  mental  make-up,  for  no  one  like  Saul  could  be 
brought  up  in  a  university  town  without  feeling  the  influence  of 
his  environment. 

160.  His  Age. — Exactly  when  he  was  born  is  not  known. 
But  all  seem  to  agree  that  it  was  about  the  same  time  as  our  Lord, 
so  that  when  Jesus  was  playing  in  the  streets  of  Nazareth,  Saul 
may  have  been  playing  in  the  streets  of  Tarsus.  His  parents 
evidently  intended  that  he  should  be  a  rabbi,  but  before  he  went 
to  Jerusalem,  there  to  continue  his  studies,  they  had  him  learn 
the  trade  of  a  tentmaker  (Acts  18  13).  This  trade  was  most 
useful  to  him  in  later  days  (i  Cor.  4:12).  In  Jerusalem  he  was 
under  the  instruction  of  a  noted  teacher  named  Gamaliel, 
(Acts  5  :  34),  and  Saul  names  him  as  his  teacher    in  Acts  22  :  3. 

161.  He  comes  before  us  first  in  the  stoning  of  Stephen, 
where  he  cares  for  the  garments  of  those  who  did  the  actual 
stoning  of  the  first  martyr.     Then  for  a  while  he  stands  to  the 


ii8 


The  Book 


Lesson  9  119 

forefront  in  the  bitter  persecution  of  the  new  and  hated  sect  of 
the  Nazarene.  For  the  fearful  work  that  he  did  in  Jerusalem 
read  Acts  8  :  3,  and  Acts  9:1;  for  similar  work  done  elsewhere 
also  Acts  26  :  10,  II.  How  widely  he  was  soon  known  as  a 
ruthless  persecutor  we  learn  from  Acts  9  :  13.  On  account 
of  all  this  he  was  the  most  feared  man  in  the  world  by  all 
believers. 

162.  His  miraculous  conversion  took  place  on  the  way  to 
Damascus  on  an  errand  of  persecution.  Of  this  we  have 
one  narrative  given  by  Luke,  and  two  given  by  the  Apostle 
himself.  (Acts  9  :  1-22;  Acts  22  :  3-13;  Acts  26  : 9-18).  From 
the  moment  of  his  conversion,  Saul  was  a  changed  man.  That 
which  he  hated  before  he  now  loved,  and  for  the  sake  of 
his  newly  found  Master  he  was  willing  to  suffer  all  the  per- 
secutions that  he  himself  had  up  to  that  time  meted  out 
to  others.  As  a  consequence  of  his  preaching  in  Damascus 
he  was  obliged  to  flee,  and  he  went  at  once  to  Arabia 
(Gal.  I  :  15-17),  where  many  think  that  he  spent  three  years  in 
the  vicinity  of  Mount  Sinai,  where  Moses  and  Elijah  had  learned 
so  much.  It  may  be  also  that  before  he  comes  to  the  front  in 
the  story  told  by  Luke,  he  was  in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  as  mentioned 
in  Galatians  i  :  21. 

163.  In  connection  with  the  revival  in  Antioch,  he  is  intro- 
duced by  Barnabas,  who  went  to  Tarsus  and  got  him  to  aid  him 
in  his  work  (Acts  11  :  25,  26).  Here  the  Apostle  remained  for 
about  one  year,  doing  grand  work  for  the  church  in  that  place. 
As  we  have  seen  in  our  lesson  on  the  Acts,  this  was  the  church 
which  organized  the  first  missionary  work,  and  sent  Paul  and 
Barnabas  as  their  missionaries  to  other  cities.  Here  begins 
Paul's  first  missionary  journey  (Acts  13  :  2).  In  all  his  work 
Paul  aimed  at  cities,  for  he  knew  that  there  he  could  find  men, 
and  these  were  what  he  sought.  This  first  journey  took  him  to 
Cyprus,  Perga,  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra,  Derbe,  and 
back  through  Lystra,  Iconium,  Antioch,  to  Attalia,  and  back 
to  Antioch  in  Syria.  Let  the  scholar  read  the  story  as  told  in 
Acts  13  and  14.  In  Lystra  it  was  that  he  and  Barnabas  were  first 
deified, — thought  to  be  gods, — and  not  long  after  Paul  was  nearly 
killed  by  the  inhabitants  of  that  city.     In  Malta  later  on  he  was 


I20  The  Book 

first  taken  for  a  murderer,  and  then  later  on  deified.    Paul  is  the 
only  man  in  all  the  Bible  history  who  had  such  varied  experiences. 

164.  In  his  second  missionary  journey  he  started  once 
more  from  Antioch,  and  together  with  Silas  made  a  tour  of  the 
cities  touched  in  his  first  journey.  Then  they  went  into  Galatia, 
and  so  on  to  Troas.  Here  it  was  that  the  vision  of  the  man  of 
Macedonia  came  to  Paul,  and  the  result  was  that  they  crossed 
over  to  Europe.  In  our  last  lesson  we  saw  this  army  of  four 
start  on  their  journey  across  the  Hellespont,  they  being  destined 
to  bring  to  Europe  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  For  the 
narrative  of  this  journey  let  the  scholar  look  up  carefully  Acts 
15  :  36  to  18  :  22.  In  this  tour  he  remained  for  a  year  and  a 
half  at  Corinth.  The  place  where  he  found  the  least  persecution 
was  Athens,  and  there  too  he  found  the  least  real  seriousness. 
The  Athenians  seem  to  have  cared  too  little  about  religion  to 
take  the  trouble  to  persecute. 

165.  The  third  missionary  journey  begins  in  Acts  18  :  23, 
and  the  chief  episode  of  this  journey  is  that  which  took  place  in 
Ephesus  (Acts  19,  20).  In  this  city  Paul  remained  for  two 
years  (Acts  19  :  10).  Plere  was  kindled  the  most  remarkable 
bonfire  that  the  world  had  ever  seen,  it  being  made  up  of  books 
of  incantation,  that  the  idolaters  were  now  willing  to  consign 
to  the  flames. 

166.  Paul's  journey  to  Rome  really  begins  at  Jerusalem, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  take  alms  to  his  fellow-countrymen  who 
were  in  distress.  Here  he  was  set  upon  and  arrested,  and  then 
taken  to  Csesarea,  where  he  appeared  before  Festus,  Felix,  and 
Agrippa.  Here  he  was  delayed  for  more  than  two  years.  Then 
he  was  sent  to  Rome  on  trial  for  his  life.  In  this  voyage  the 
great  shipwreck  occurred.  (For  further  details  of  this  won- 
derful life,  the  scholar  is  referred  to  Dr.  Stalker's  Life  of  Paul, 
a  most  wonderful  and  brief  setting  forth  of  the  main  incidents 
of  the  life  of  the  Apostle.) 

167.  In  all  thjs  story  of  Paul's  labors  and  sufferings  there  are 
great  gaps.  This  is  seen  as  soon  as  we  compare  his  life,  as  given 
in  the  Acts,  with  one  statement  of  his  to  the  Corinthians,  as 
given  in  2  Corinthians  11  :  25-28.  Put  in  parallel  columns,  so 
as  to  bring  them  out,  the  record  is  as  follows: 


Lesson  9  121 

Paul's  story  Luke's  Story 

Five  times  whipped  by  Jews.  Not  one  mentioned. 

Thrice  scourged  by  Romans.  Only  one  mentioned. 

Thrice  shipwrecked.  Not  mentioned,  for  the  ship- 

wreck given  in  Acts  was 
subsequent  to  those  named. 

A  night  and  a  day  in  the  deep.       Not  mentioned. 

168.  A  Triumphant  Life. — Therefore,  Paul  was  bound  to  the 
whipping-post  eight  times,  and  suffered  shipwreck  jour  times, 
while  once  he  clung  to  wreckage  for  twenty-four  hours  before 
he  could  get  to  land.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  this  he  could  exclaim, 
"Wherefore  I  take  pleasure  in  weaknesses,  in  injuries,  in  neces- 
sities, in  persecutions,  in  distresses,  for  Christ's  sake:  for  when 
I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong"  (2  Cor.  12  :  10).  And  in  spite 
of  all  that  he  suffered  he  could  also  cry  out:  "I  have  learned,  in 
whatsoever  state  I  am,  therein  to  be  content"  (Phil.  4:11). 
It  seems  to  us  that  if  the  Apostle  had  been  asked,  "Where  did 
you  learn  this  truly  wonderful  lesson?"  he  might  have  replied, 
"The  whipping-post  was  my  academy,  and  mobs  with  clenched 
fists  and  paving-stones  were  my  professors.  Fastings  and 
perUs  in  the  deep  were  my  college,  and  my  midnight  vigils  were 
kept  in  the  inner  prison.  Weariness  and  pain  were  my  text- 
books, and  kings  and  rulers  my  lecturers.  Chained  soldiers 
were  my  room-mates,  a  thorn  in  the  fiesh  was  my  monitor,  and 
Christ  the  crucified  was  Head-master." 

169.  All  agree  that  at  last  Paul  suffered  martyrdom  in  Rome, 
by  being  beheaded.  So  ended  the  life  of  the  most  useful  man  of 
that  day,  and  the  great  leader  in  work  among  the  Gentiles. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Where  was  Saul  born? 

2.  What  distinguished  Tarsus  at  that  day? 

3.  What  trade  did  Saul  learn,  and  how  was  it  useful  to  him 
in  after-life? 

4.  When  does  he  first  come  before  us  as  a  historical  character? 


122  The  Book 

5.  What  kind  of  a  life  did  he  live  after  the  martyrdom  of 
Stephen? 

6.  Give  an  account  of  his  conversion. 

7.  Where  did  he  go  from  Damascus  at  once  on  his  conversion  ? 

8.  Give  the  outline  of  his  first  missionary  journey. 

9.  What  remarkable  experience  did  he  have  at  Lystra? 

10.  Give  the  tour  of  his  second  missionary  journey. 

1 1 ,  What  was  the  principal  city  in  which  he  wrought  on  his 
third  journey? 

12,  Give  an  account  of  his  sufferings  as  given  in  his  letter  to 
the  Corinthians  compared  with  Luke's  narrative. 

13.  Where  did  Paul  suffer  martyrdom,  and  in  what  way? 


Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  6  to  9 

1.  What  were  the  charges  in  the  ecclesiastical  trial  of  Jesus? 

2.  What  in  the  political  trial? 

3.  Name  the  persons  who  were  present  at  the  crucifixion. 

4.  Give  the  six  truths  concerning  the  resurrection. 

5.  Mention  in  their  order  the  various  appearances  of  Jesus 
to  his  disciples. 

6.  What  other  appearances  may  be  added  to  these? 

7.  Describe  the  Ascension. 

8.  What  are  the  six  pivotal  events  recorded  in  Acts? 

9.  What  fact  in  Saul's  conversion  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance? 

ID.  What  victory  did  Paul  and  SUas  gain  in  prison? 

11.  Give  the  outline  of  Paul's  first  missionary  journey. 

12.  Of  his  second. 

13.  Where  did  Paul  suffer  martyrdom  and  how? 


How  the  Bible  Came  to  Us 

BY  IRA  MAURICE  PRICE,  PH.D. 

Professor  of  the  Semitic  Languages  and  Literatures  in 

the  University  of  Chicago. 

1 .  The  English  Bible  is  the  Bible  of  the  English-speaking  world. 
It  is  used  in  several  editions  or  translations.  The  most  promi- 
nent of  these  are  the  Authorized,  or  King  James  Version  (of  i6i  i), 
and  the  Revised  Version  (of  1 88 1-5),  and  the  American  Standard 
Revision  (of  1901).  The  recent  revisions  are  supplied  with 
marginal  references  and  notes,  both  to  parallel  and  to  explanatory 
texts.  In  addition  to  these  citations  we  find  frequent  references 
to  the  Heb(rew),  Sept(uagint),  Vulg(ate),  and  Syr(iac)  readings. 
That  is  to  say,  the  translators  of  the  English  Bible  refer  the 
reader  to  some  variant  reading  in  one  of  the  great  Bibles  of  the 
ancient  world,  for  some  valuable  explanation  of,  or  variant  from, 
the  reading  found  on  the  page  of  the  Bible  being  read.  In  other 
words,  we  see  by  the  margins  of  our  English  Bible,  that  there  are 
many  old  Bibles  in  dififerent  languages  which  scholars  must 
study  if  they  give  us  the  best  that  can  be  produced. 

2.  Every  one  who  can  read  the  Bible  in  English  must  recognize 
the  fact  that  our  Bible  is  only  a  translation  from  the  language 
in  which  the  books  of  both  Testaments  were  originally  written. 
The  original  language  of  the  Old  Testament  is  Hebrew  with  a 
few  sections  appearing  in  the  Aramaic  tongue;  and  the  New 
Testament  is  Greek.  Any  translator  who  wishes  to  give  us  an 
English  Bible  that  will  be  closest  to  the  meaning  intended  by  the 
original  writers,  must  translate  out  of  those  two  languages.  If 
any  of  us  has  ever  attempted  to  translate  a  language,  he  knows 
how  difficult  it  is  to  transfer  the  exact  thought  of  one  tongue  into 
another. 

3.  The  Hebrew  language  of  the  Old  Testament  is  full  of  picture- 
thoughts.  It  is  simple  in  construction,  and  has  a  very  small 
number  of  words  in  actual  use.  It  was  the  language  of  the 
Hebrew  peoples  during  the  time  of  their  national  existence,  but 
degenerated  into  Aramaic  some  time  after  their  return  from  the 

123 


124  The  Book 

exile.  The  tremendous  expressive  power  of  the  language  is 
seen  in  the  great  sermons  of  the  prophets,  especially  Isaiah,  and 
in  the  poetry  of  Job  and  the  Psalms. 

4.  The  founding  and  the  growth  of  Alexandria  under  Greek 
influence  led  to  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Bible.  Facilities 
for  trade  and  other  reasons  made  this  city  attractive  to  the 
Jews.  Greek,  however,  was  the  prevailing  language  of  the 
community.  Early  in  the  third  century  B.  C.  the  proportion  of 
Greek-speaking  Jews  became  so  large  that  there  was  a  call  for 
their  Scriptures  in  their  adopted  tongue.  To  supply  this  religious 
need  of  the  Jews,  the  Hebrew  Bible  was  translated  (about 
280-130  B.  C.)  into  the  Greek  language.  This  Greek  Bible 
contained  all  the  books  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  and  several  other 
small  books  now  called  "the  Apocrypha." 

5.  This  Greek  Bible,  now  called  the  Septuagint  ("Seventy"), 
so  named  because  it  was  thought  to  have  been  translated  from 
the  Hebrew  by  "seventy"  men,  became  the  Bible  of  the  Old 
Testament  for  the  Greek-speaking  world.  In  the  time  of  our 
Lord  it  was  largely  used  by  the  New  Testament  writers.  It 
was  quoted  by  them,  and  especially  by  Paul,  almost  everywhere. 
It  was  the  Bible  of  the  early  Christian  church  until  the 
conquest  of  Rome  and  the  L,atin  tongue  required  a  translation 
into  Latin.  These  early  Latin  translations  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  all  made  from  the  Septuagint.  There  were  also  some 
scholars  in  the  church  who,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  translation 
of  the  Septuagint,  made  translations  of  their  own.  These 
were  of  some  value  to  scholars,  such  as  that  most  famous  of  all 
Biblical  students,  Origen  (186-254  A.  D.)  who  were  trying  to 
construct  the  best  Greek  text  of  the  Bible. 

6.  The  many  and  differing  Latin  translations  that  were 
current  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries  led  Jerome, 
a  fully  equipped  and  competent  scholar,  to  translate  the  whole 
Bible  from  the  original  languages  into  good  idiomatic  Latin 
(384-405).  His  translation  differed  so  much  from  those  versions 
in  general  use  that  it  was  sharply  and  bitterly  criticized  by  the 
less  scholarly  and  more  hostile  enemies  of  progress.  But  the 
faithfulness  of  his  translation  to  the  original  text  commended  it 
to  the  most  thoughtful  men  of  the  Christian  church,  and  before 


How  the  Bible  Came  to  Us  125 

many  centuries  it  became  the  Bible  of  the  Latin-speaking  and 
Latin-using  world.  That  was  the  Bible  adopted  by  the  Council  of 
Trent,  April  8,  1546,  as  the  official  Bible  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  With  the  exception  of  the  Psalms,  which  is  simply  a 
revision  of  an  old  Latin  Psalter,  and  the  apocryphal  books 
included  in  the  collection,  this  is  Jerome's  translation,  made 
384-405,  which  was  so  drastically  condemned  when  it  first 
appeared. 

7.  In  northern  Syria  there  was  a  body  of  Christians  who  used 
the  Syrian  language.  Somewhere  in  the  second  century  they 
made,  or  had  made  for  them,  a  translation  of  the  Bible  to  aid 
them  in  their  Christian  growth.  The  translation  from  Hebrew 
Old  Testament  into  Syriac  was  a  translation  from  one  sister 
tongue  into  another,  and  was  thus  quite  freely  rendered.  If 
one  should  to-day  translate  from  Dutch  into  German,  he  would 
feel  free  to  vary  from  the  literal  if  thereby  he  thought  he  could 
help  bring  out  the  meaning  of  the  original  language.  This 
Syriac  translation,  while  a  beautiful  piece  of  work,  was  most  too 
freely  done  to  be  of  much  value  to  scholars  who  are  to-day  trying 
to  find  out  what  the  text  could  have  been  from  which  it  was  made. 
There  are  none  of  the  Latin  Bible  apocryphal  books  in  the  Syriac 
version. 

8.  These  facts  show  us  that  the  early  Christian  church  in 
Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  and  Europe  used  the  Bible 
mainly  in  three  versions,  viz. :  Septuagint,  Greek,  Latin  Vulgate, 
and  the  Syriac — all  valuable,  prominent  texts.  Of  Greek  texts 
there  were  several  translations  current  among  different  branches 
of  the  early  church. 

9.  When  the  peoples  on  the  outskirts  of  civilization  became 
Christianized  they  also  were  provided  with  the  Scriptures, 
translated  into  their  tongues  from  one  of  the  three  or  four  great 
versions  of  that  day.  Thus  we  have  the  Bible  in  Arabic,  Ethiopic, 
Armenian,  Gothic,  Slavonic  and  a  lot  of  other  border  languages. 

10.  The  Bible  was  introduced  into  England  very  early  in  the 
Christian  centuries,  and  it  was  one  of  the  Latin  versions  current 
in  the  Western  world.  This  was  succeeded  by  the  Vulgate  Latin. 
Preachers  and  teachers  were  obliged  to  interpret  this  in  the 
language  of  the  native  peoples.     Some  fragments  of  these  inter- 


126  The  Book 

pretations,  paraphrases,  and  translations  remain  to  the  present 
day,  preserved  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  or  early  English  tongue.  In 
the  fourteenth  century,  Wycliffe  (i 320-1 384)  gave  us  the  first 
English  Bible,  translated,  not  from  the  original  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  but  from  the  Latin  Vulgate, — a  translation  of  a  translation. 
This  was  received  with  slight  favor  by  the  churchmen  of  that  day. 

11.  Not  until  the  sixteenth  century  do  we  have  an  English 
Bible  translated  out  of  the  original  languages  of  the  Bible.  After 
great  opposition  and  severe  trial  Tyndale  succeeded  in  printing 
in  Germany  and  distributing  in  England  an  English  New  Testa- 
ment translated  from  the  Greek,  But  his  books  were  confiscated, 
and  burned  in  London  by  the  church  officials.  Remaining  on  the 
continent  and  prosecuting  his  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
he  was  finally  kidnapped,  imprisoned,  strangled,  and  burned  at 
the  stake  October  6,  1536 — all  because  he  translated  the  Bible  into 
English  so  that  the  common  people  could  read  it.  Within  one 
year  after  his  martyrdom  his  translation  was  published  under 
another  name  by  royal  authority,  the  authority  of  Henry  VIII. 
For  several  years  English  Bibles  flowed  from  the  presses  of 
England  and  the  continent  in  several  editions,  most  prominent 
of  which  were  "  Matthew's, "  Coverdale's,  and  the  Great  Bible.  A 
revulsion  against  Protestantism  cut  off  Cromwell's  head  and 
gave  Bible-popularity  a  setback.  Edward  VI  (1547-3) 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Protestants,  while  Mary  Tudor  (1553-8) 
burned  at  the  stake  many  of  the  best  men  of  the  times,  such  as 
Ridley,  Latimer,  and  John  Rogers.  In  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  (1558-1603)  Bible  translation  and  publication,  both 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  made  rapid  progress.  There  were 
published  the  Geneva  version  (1560),  the  Bishops'  Bible  (1568), 
and  the  Rheims  New  Testament  (Roman  Catholic,  1582).  Of 
all  these  the  Geneva  Bible  became  the  most  popular. 

12.  Early  in  the  reign  of  James  I  (1603-25)  a  movement  was 
set  on  foot  to  provide  a  new  and  better  English  translation  of  the 
Bible.  Most  of  the  eminent  Biblical  scholars  of  England  set 
to  work  and  produced  in  161 1  the  Authorized  Version  of  the 
Bible;  it  is  a  model  of  good  English  and  a  very  faithful  translation 
of  the  original  texts  known  at  that  time, 

13.  Between  161 1,  the  date  of  appearance  of  the  Authorized 


How  the  Bible  Came  to  Us  127 

Version,  and  1870,  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  a  revision,  a 
period  of  more  than  250  years,  scholars  found  a  large  number  of 
very  valuable  manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  older  and  nearer  the 
lost  originals  than  any  hitherto  known.  The  English  language, 
too,  in  that  space  of  time,  had  changed  in  some  important  par- 
ticulars. During  this  same  period,  several  private  attempts 
were  made  to  give  us  a  new  and  better  translation  than  the 
Authorized  Version.  Several  works  were  produced  on  the 
added  new  material  of  the  new  manuscripts  now  known  to 
scholars.  In  fact,  there  was  agitation  toward  a  new  translation 
on  the  grounds  of  the  better  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  now  at 
hand,  of  the  more  thorough  and  comprehensive  scholarship 
available,  and  of  the  obsolete  language  of  the  Authorized  Version. 

14.  In  1870  steps  were  taken  toward  revision,  and  before  many 
years  both  a  British  and  American  Revision  Committee,  made  up 
of  many  of  the  leading  British  and  American  Biblical  scholars, 
were  at  work.  After  ten  years  of  most  conscientious  and  careful 
effort  the  Revised  Version  of  the  New  Testament  appeared  in 
1 88 1,  and  four  years  later,  in  1885,  the  Old  Testament  appeared — 
thus  completing  a  translation  on  the  basis  of  the  best  manu- 
scripts now  known  to  the  scholarly  world. 

15.  The  American  Revision  Committee,  not  as  conservative 
as  the  British  in  the  retention  of  old  terms,  words  and  phrases, 
carefully  revised  the  Revised  Version  and  issued  in  1901  The 
American  Standard  Revised  Version — the  best  edition  of  the 
Bible  in  the  English  language. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  are  the  three  most  prominent  of  the  editions  of 
the  Bible  in  English? 

2.  What  are  the  two  original  languages  of  the  Old  Testament? 
The  original  language  of  the  New  Testament? 

3.  What  is  a  special  characteristic  of  the  Hebrew  language? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  the  Septuagint? 

5.  Who  was  the  great  translator  of  the  Bible  into  Latin? 
By  what  church  was  it  officially  adopted? 

6.  Into  what  language  akin  to  Hebrew  was  the  Bible  trans- 
lated, and  through  the  agency  of  what  people? 


128  The  Book 

7.  What  versions  were  mainly  in  use  in  the  early  Christian 
church? 

8.  Who  gave  us  the  first  English  Bible,  and  when? 

9.  Who  first  translated  the  Bible  into   English  from  the 
original  Bible  languages? 

10.  Tell  the  story  of  Tyndale's  version. 

11.  What  other  editions  were  prominent  at  about  that  time? 

12.  What  gave  Bible  popularity  a  setback? 

13.  What  Bibles  were  published  during  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth? 

14.  In  whose  reign  and  by  whom  was  the  Authorized  Version 
produced? 

15.  Why  was  a  revision  deemed  necessary? 

16.  In  what  year  did  the  Revised  Version  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment appear?     The  Old  Testament  revision? 

17.  What  body  of  men  prepared  the  Revision? 

18.  Who  prepared  the  American  Standard  Revised  Version, 
and  in  general  how  does  it  differ  from  the  Revised  Version? 


The  Gist  of  the  Books 

Note.— By  means  of  this  outline,  the  teacher  could  drill  the  class  frequently,  say  at 
least  at  every  Review  Period,  not  only  on  the  names  of  the  books,  but  on  their  prin- 
cipal contents  as  here  suggested.  It  is  extremely  useful  to  student  and  teacher  to  be 
able  to  recall  instantly  just  what  is  the  true  characteristic  content  of  each  book  in  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  the  order  of  the  books.  The  best  way  is  to  drill  by  subdivision,  the 
Pentateuch,  Historical  Books,  etc.,  mastering  the  outlines  under  each  subdivision. 


The  Old  Testament— The  Pentateuch 
Genesis 

The  book  of  beginnings — the  creation;  the  fall  of  man;  the 
beginnings  of  the  chosen  people. 

Exodus 

The  story  of  the  going  out  of  the  chosen  people  from  Egypt 
to  Canaan,  with  an  account  of  God's  dealings  with  his  people 
in  guiding  them  into  national  life. 

Leviticus 

Laws  and  ceremonies  of  the  tabernacle  for  the  priestly  tribe 
of  Levi,  as  a  guide  in  their  service. 

Numbers 

The  book  of  the  numbering  of  the  people  on  two  occasions 
— (i)  At  Sinai,  in  the  second  year  of  the  wanderings;  (2)  On 
the  Jordan,  in  the  fortieth  year.  Containing  the  story  of  the 
wanderings,  from  Sinai  to  the  countries  east  of  the  Jordan. 

Deuteronomy 

The  repetition  of  the  Law,  to  the  people  who  had  been  born 
in  the  wilderness,  as  applied  to  the  coming  life  in  Canaan; 
appointment  of  Joshua  to  succeed  Moses;  the  account  of 
the  death  of  Moses. 

Historical  Books 
Joshua 

The  story  of  the  Conquest  of  Canaan;  distribution  of  the 
land ;  locating  tabernacle  at  Shiloh ;  and  death  of  Joshua. 
Judges 

The  story  of  Israel's  political  and  religious  decline  after 
Joshua's  death.  "There  was  no  king  in  Israel;  every  man 
did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  A  history  of  the 
Judges  from  death  of  Joshua. 

9  129 


I30  The  Book 


Ruth 

The  link  connecting  the  period  of  the  Judges  with  the 
Monarchy,  giving  David's  genealogy,  and  furnishing  many 
instances  of  faith,  and  of  the  bringing  of  good  out  of  evil. 

1  and  2  Samuel 

A  continuation  of  the  history  of  the  Judges,  telling  of  Eli 
and  Samuel,  and  the  story  of  Saul's  anointing  and  reign, 
and  the  rise  and  reign  of  David. 

1  and  2  Kings 

The  history  of  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah  from  the 
death  of  David  to  the  captivity.  The  story  of  the  con- 
flict between  Jehovah  and  Baal.  The  life-stories  of  Elijah 
and  Elisha. 

1  and  2  Chronicles 

Giving  matter  supplementary  to  the  preceding  books;  the 
temple  ritual  under  David  and  Solomon;  restoration  of 
church  and  nation  after  captivity, 

Ezra 

The  return  of  the  captives  under  Zerubbabel ;  the  rebuilding 
of  the  temple;  the  second  return  of  captives  in  time  of 
Artaxerxes  Longimanus  and  Ezra's  reformation  of  the 
people. 

Nehemiah 

The  rebuilding  of  the  city  walls  of  Jerusalem  under  Nehemiah ; 
reforms,  civil  and  religious;  restoration  of  Temple  services; 
re-enacting  of  Mosaic  law. 

Esther 

An  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Israelites  who  remained  in 
captivity,  showing  the  overruling  power  of  Providence. 

Poetical  Books 
Job 

The  story  of   Job's  sufferings  and  patient  endurance;  the 
wisdom  and  power  of  God  in  dealing  with  him;  his  closing 
days  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
Psalms 

A  compilation  of  songs  of  praise  and  devotion,  used  especially 
in  the  public  worship  of  Jehovah. 


The  Gist  of  the  Books  131 

Proverbs 

A  manual  of  practical  rules  of  life  setting  wisdom  over 
against  folly — principally  the  work  of  Solomon. 

Ecclesiastes 

The  story  of  a  search  for  happiness  in  the  things  of  the  world, 
concluding  with  the  emptiness  of  everything  but  the  doing 
of  God's  will. 

Song  of  Solomon 

There  are  three  principal  views  concerning  the  Song  of 
Solomon  or  Song  of  Songs:  (i)  As  a  spiritual  allegory, 
teaching  God's  love  for  Israel;  (2)  As  an  allegory  with 
Christ  as  the  Lover  and  his  church  as  the  beloved;  (3)  As 
the  story  of  Solomon's  love  for  the  Shulamite. 

The  Prophetical  Books 

The  Major  Prophets 

Isaiah 

Prophecies  against  Jerusalem ;  a  forecast  of  Messianic  days; 
the  relation  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  its  enemies;  the  disap- 
pearance of  national  distinctions,  and  the  great  future  of  the 
church. 

Jeremiah 

Warnings  to  the  Jews;  a  survey  of  all  nations;  a  promise  of 
return  from  exile;  prophecies  regarding  Egypt. 

Lamentations 

A  pathetic  ode,  expressing  Jeremiah's  grief  over  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  and  its  Temple,  and  the  miseries  of  slavery 
and  famine. 

Ezekiel 

Prophecies  before  and  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
exhorting  to  repentance;  pronouncing  God's  judgment  on 
the  surrounding  nations;  and  visions  of  the  final  glory  of 
God's  people  in  a  new  Jerusalem. 

Daniel 

The  story  of  Daniel  in  Babylon,  and  particularly  note- 
worthy because  of  its  Messianic  predictions. 


132  The  Book 

The  Minor  Prophets 

Hosea 

Points  out  the  unfaithfulness  of  Israel;  the  necessity  for 
punishment;  the  final  restoration  of  Israel. 

Joel 

A  prophetical  description  of  locusts,  drought,  and  invasion, 
with  exhortation  to  fasting,  prayer,  and  repentance;  a 
promise  of  blessing;  a  warning  of  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem; a  foretelling  of  the  founding  of  Messiah's  Kingdom. 

Amos 

Denounces  sins  of  nations  around  Israel  and  Judah;  describes 
the  state  of  the  two  kingdoms,  and  pictures  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  and  restoration  of  the  people. 

Obadiah 

Predicts  annihilation  of  Edom,  and  contrasts  it  with  the 
future  restoration  of  Israel,  who  are  to  possess  Edom  and 
Philistia,  and  enjoy  the  promises  of  the  Messiah. 

Jonah 

The  story  of  Jonah's  mission  to  the  Ninevites,  his  wilfulness, 
and  God's  love  for  the  nations. 

Micah 

Depicts  the  fall  of  Israel  and  Judah;  the  better  things  to 
come;  foretells  invasions  of  Sennacherib  and  Shalmaneser, 
the  dispersion  of  Israel,  destruction  of  Jeriisalem  and 
Assyria,  and  the  birthplace  and  kingdom  of  Christ. 

Nahum 

A  consoler  from  Jehovah,  foretelling  the  downfall  of  Assyria, 
and  repeating  Jonah's  denunciations  of  Assyria. 

Habakkuk 

Foretells  destruction  of  the  Chaldeans;  utters  song  of  praise 
for  the  power  and  mercy  of  Jehovah,  with  confidence  in  his 
mercy  on  his  people. 

Zephaniah 

Prophetic  warnings  against  Judah,  and  the  Baal  and  Moloch 
worship,  ending  with  reproofs  to  Jerusalem,  and  promise  of 
final  restoration. 


The  Gist  of  the  Books  133 

Haggai 

An  arousement  of  the  people  to  support  Zerubbabel  and 

Joshua  (the  high  priest)  in  building  the  Temple. 
Zechariah 

Encourages  the  Jews  to  push  on  in  building  the  Temple; 

foreshadows  national  history  and  the  coming  of  the  Messiah. 
Malachi 

Reproves  the  profanation  of  the  priests  in  the  New  Temple, 

and  foretells  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah  to  purify  the 

Temple. 

The  New  Testament — Historical  Books 

Matthew 

The  nature  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven ;  the  miracles  to  illus- 
trate Jesus'  teachings;  the  opposition  of  Pharisees;  Jesus  as 
the  kingly  Messiah. 

Mark 

Emphasizes  the  deeds  of  Christ,  the  mighty  Saviour. 

Luke 

Sets  forth  the  redemptive  character  of  Christ. 

John 

Emphasizes  the  deity  of  Christ. 

Acts 

The  history  of  the  founding  and  extending  of  the  Christian 
Church — under  Peter  and  Paul. 

The  Epistles— Pauline 

Romans 

The  summary  of  God's  dealings  with  mankind,  from  first 
adoption  to  sonship,  showing  sinfulness  of  human  race;  the 
way  of  salvation;  the  Christian's  duty  and  privileges;  the 
development  of  truth;  personal  messages. 

1  and  2  Corinthians 

(i)  The  church  as  it  was  at  that  time;  reproof  of  the  factional 
spirit;  intercourse  with  heathen;  words  about  the  Lord's 
supper;  resurrection  of  the  dead.  (2)  The  model  pastor; 
thankfulness  for  the  removal  of  evils  against  which  Paul 
had  written  in  the  first  letter;  indignation  at  the  arrogance 
of  his  opponents. 


134  The  Book 

Galatians 

The  "magna  charta  of  Christian  liberty."  Contains 
details  of  .Paul's  life.  Salvation  impossible  through  works 
of  the  law.  Brief  outline  of  plan  of  salvation  as  given 
in  Romans.  Its  argument  makes  Christianity  not  a 
Jewish  sect  but  a  world  religion. 

Ephesians 

On  the  Ideal  Church.  Written  to  strengthen  those  who  had 
left  heathenism,  contrasting  their  present  higher  life  with  the 
former  degradation. 

Philippians 

On  the  Ideal  Christian.  Written  during  Paul's  first  imprison- 
ment in  Rome — a  letter  of  grateful  affection,  of  joy  over  the 
Philippian  Christians,  and  comment  upon  his  imprisonment 
and  prospects. 

Colossians 

On  the  Ideal  Saviour.  The  supremacy  of  Christ  as  the  source 
of  all  spiritual  blessings;  the  stimulus  of  Paul's  own  example 
in  pressing  on  to  the  truth;  a  warning  against  false  teach- 
ings; the  effect  of  sharing'  in  Christ's  resurrection. 

1  and  2  Thessalonians 

(i)  Gratitude  for  their  acceptance  of  the  Gospel;  the  glories 
of  resurrection  and  of  the  transformed  body;  (2)  To  correct 
an  impression  that  the  resurrection  was  near  at  ha«d ;  exhor- 
tations to  perseverance,  and  appeals  for  the  prayers  of  the 
Thessalonians. 

1  and  2  Timothy 

To  counteract  the  Judaizing  influence  at  work  against  Paul's 
views  of  Christianity,  and  to  encourage  Timothy  in  his 
duties,  with  directions  as  to  public  worship,  and  friendly 
counsel  to  Timothy. 

Titus 

Advice  as  to  the  course  to  pursue  in  helping  the  church  in 
Crete  to  overcome  degenerate  state;  church  organization, 
qualification  of  elders,  suppression  of  false  teachers;  personal 
words  to  Titus;  the  importance  of  good  works. 


The  Gist  of  the  Books  135 

Philemon 

A  letter  of  reconciliation  on  behalf  of  Philemon's  converted 
slave  Onesimus,  by  whom  the  letter  was  taken  to  Philemon. 
Hebrews 

Showing  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  over  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  because  its  Author  is  superior  to  Moses;  because 
the  Old  Covenant  was  incomplete;  and  warnings  against 
relapses  into  Judaism. 

The  Epistles — General 
James 

An  Epistle  of  Faith.  Addressed  to  Jewish  Christians,  on 
sincerity  and  patience;  against  hypocrisy,  self-deceit,  adula- 
tion of  the  rich,  and  contempt  of  the  poor;  on  ruling  the 
tongue;  on  false  charity;  and  warning  against  trying  to  serve 
God  and  Mammon. 

1  Peter 

The  first  of  two  Epistles  of  Hope.  As  to  earthly  trials;  a 
holy  life;  duty  as  citizens,  slaves,  husbands,  wives;  pastors 
and  their  duties. 

2  Peter 

Perseverance  in  faith  and  good  works;  punishment  of  the 
impenitent;  certainty  of  the  Second  Advent. 

1  John 

The  first  of  three  Epistles  of  Love.  A  doctrinal  discourse, 
especially  to  Gentiles  in  Asia  Minor,  aiming  to  show  the 
true  doctrine  as  to  the  Person  of  Christ,  and  communion 
with  him  as  necessary  to  a  holy  life,  and  intended  to  con- 
firm them  in  their  faith. 

2  John 

"To  the  elect  lady"  (of  whom  nothing  certam  is  known) 
and  her  children — an  exhortation  to  love,  faith,  godliness, 
and  a  warning  against  false  teachers. 

3  John 

To  Gains,  of  whom  nothing  certain  is  known,  commending 
him  for  hospitality  and  piety,  warning  him  against  Dio- 
trephes,  and  asking  his  help  for  Demetrius, 


136  The  Book 

Jude 

Remarkable  for  an  otherwise  unrecorded  saying  of  Enoch 
(v.  14).  Warns  against  false  teachers.  Cites  examples  of 
impenitence,  and  affirms  certainty  of  judgment  and  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked. 

Prophetical 
Revelation 

The  only  prophetical  book  of  the  New  Testament.  The  visions 
of  John  the  Apostle  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  in  his  old  age. 


THE   PUPIL 

ANTOINETTE ABERNETHY LAMOREAUX 

Lesson  Page 

I.  Knowing  the  Pupil 139 

a.  The  Beginners  Age— Three  to  Six 143 

3.  Beginners  Age  (concluded)      147 

4.  The  Primary  Age — Six  to  Nine 151 

5.  Junior  Age — Nine  to  Twelve 155 

6.  Junior  Age  (concluded), IS9 

7.  The  Intermediate  Age — Twelve  to  Sixteen 163 

8.  The  Intermediate  Age  (concluded) 167 

9.  The  Senior  Age — Sixteen  to  Maturity 171 

la  Maturity 17S 


Teaching  Hints 

Leaders  of  classes,  and  individuals 
pursuing  these  studies  apart  from 
classes,  are  urged  to  read  the  chap- 
ter entitled  "Teaching  Hints,"  on 
page  257,  before  beginning  this  section 


Lesson  I 
Knowing  the  Pupil 

1.  There  never  was  a  time  when  so  many  people  were  students 
of  human  life  as  to-day.  Professional  men,  business  men, 
politicians,  educators,  parents,  indeed  the  whole  thinking  world 
has  apparently  matriculated  in  a  college  of  life.  What  is  it, 
how  does  it  develop,  how  may  it  be  influenced,  how  led  to  action? 
These  are  typical  questions  to  which  answers  are  sought.  There 
would  be  no  value  in  this  study  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that 
life,  like  all  other  of  God's  creations,  is  under  law,  and  the 
laws  are  unchangeable  and  universal.  Certain  causes  will 
always  produce  certain  results  under  normal  conditions. 

2.  Since  these  laws  of  life  may  be  known,  two  conclusions 
follow:  first,  results  which  are  desired  in  a  life  can  be  intelli- 
gently planned  for;  second,  haphazard,  ignorant  work  with  a 
life  becomes  culpable  in  proportion  to  the  issues  at  stake  and  the 
opportunity  for  acquiring  skill  in  the  work. 

3.  Why  the  Sunday-school  Teacher  should  know  the 
Pupil. — Next  to  fathers  and  mothers,  the  duty  of  understanding 
life  is  laid  most  imperatively  upon  Sunday-school  teachers. 
Four  unanswerable  arguments  present  themselves  as  proof. 

(i)  The  issues  are  the  most  vital  in  the  world.  The  case  the 
lawyer  seeks  to  win  is  important,  but  the  case  the  teacher  seeks 
to  win  involves  character,  not  reputation,  and  the  outcome 
is  eternal. 

(2)  i4  mistake  with  a  life  cannot  he  wholly  rectified.  There  is 
a  best  time  for  each  phase  of  work  with  a  life — a  time  to  form 
habits  and  store  memory,  a  time  to  shape  ideals  and  to  crystal- 
lize life  purposes,  a  time  to  broaden  sympathies  and  to  lead  to 
service;  if  this  best  time  be  passed,  the  results,  if  obtainable  at 
all  later,  come  with  greater  effort  and  with  less  success. 

(3)  The  time  is  short.  Measured  on  the  dial,  an  hour  in  a 
week  or  a  lifetime  out  of  an  eternity  is  too  brief  to  allow  of  one 
wasted  moment,  one  experimental  or  ignorant  touch  upon  a 
soul.  But  measured  by  the  duration  of  a  given  opportunity  the 
time   is   shorter    still.     Conditions   in    the   life   are   constantly 

139 


I40  The  Pupil 

changing,  never  to  return  in  the  same  way  again.  What  is 
done  in  "buying  up  the  opportunity,"  must  be  done  quickly. 

(4)  Success  is  largely  conditioned  upon  obedience  to  God's  laws. 
Only  the  Holy  Spirit  can  make  spiritual  work  effective,  bht 
he  always  operates  in  accordance  with  God's  laws.  There  are 
conditions  between  the  teacher  and  God  which  must  be  met 
before  he  can  work,  and  conditions  between  the  teacher  and  the 
pupil.  These  conditions  or  laws  are  not  hidden  and  mysterious, 
but  may  be  definitely  known,  and  in  proportion  as  they  are 
obeyed  will  God  have  access  to  the  soul  of  the  pupil, 

4.  What  the  Teacher  Should  Know  about  the  Pupil. — 
Every  teacher  owes  to  God  and  to  the  life  he  seeks  to  touch  a 
twofold  knowledge:  first,  a  knowledge  of  the  general  laws  in  all 
life,  and  second,  a  knowledge  of  the  individual  life  of  each  pupil. 

(i)  General  knowledge.  Since  the  purpose  of  this  study  of 
the  pupil  is  to  afford  a  general  knowledge  of  life,  four  prelimi- 
nary statements  will  suffice  in  this  connection. 

(a)  Life  is  constantly  changing.  This  change  is  evidert 
in  growth  or  increase  in  size  and  development  or  increase 
in  power.  It  occurs  not  only  in  the  body  but  the  soul  as 
well,  or  that  part  of  life  which  is  not  physical,  and  is  a 
result  of  nourishing  food  and  proper  exercise.  The  Sun- 
day-school has  recognized  this  fact  of  change  by  its  division 
of  the  life  of  the  pupil  into  six  periods,  Beginners,  Primary, 
Junior,  Intermediate,  Senior,  and  Adult.  These  periods 
mark  different  stages  in  development. 

(b)  Each  period  has  certain  predominant  characteristics 
and  out  of  these  characteristics  arise  definite  opportunities 
and  needs.  To  meet  these  opportunities  and  needs  is  the 
goal  of  work  for  each  period.  The  final  goal  of  developed 
Christian  character  can  be  attained  best  through  reaching 
the  goal  of  each  period. 

(c)  Development  is  gradual,  constant  and  progressive. 
The  soul  comes  into  the  world  containing  infinite  but 
undeveloped  possibilities.  The  unfolding  is  gradual  and 
constant  as  the  possibilities  are  called  out  by  the  needs  of 
the  life.  There  is  also  an  order  in  unfolding.  The  soul 
develops  power  for  simple  mental  processes  first  and  for  the 


Lesson  i  141 


complex  later:  interest  in  self  first  and  in  others  later; 
consciousness  of  the  natural  first,  the  spiritual  later.  The 
teacher  who  knows  God's  order,  obeys  his  laws  and  waits 
his  time  is  the  teacher  whose  seed  sowing  is  reaped  in  the 
hundredfold  harvest. 

(d)  It  is  impossible  to  ignore  the  physical  and  mental 
side  of  the  pupil  and  be  successful  in  spiritual  work  with  him. 
The  lesson  cannot  reach  the  soul  save  by  way  of  physical 
senses  and  a  physical  brain  and  mental  processes  identical 
with  those  necessary  in  apprehending  a  history  lesson.     The 
Holy  Spirit  applies  the  truth  to  the  life  but  he  has  only  so 
much  to  apply  as  has  been  received  into  the  mind.     There- 
fore pure  air  and  bodily  comfort,  acute  senses  and  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  the  mind  are  as  surely  linked  with  spiritual 
work  as  prayer, 
(2)  Specific   knowledge.     Though   all   lives   possess   the  same 
general  characteristics  and  are  under  the  same  general  laws, 
no  two  lives  are   identical.     Some  unfold  more  rapidly  than 
others,  some  have  larger  capacity  and  more  latent  possibilities 
than  others  and  all  are  in  differing  circumstances.     It  is  this 
variation  that  makes  individuality,   and  the  more  perfect  the 
adaptation  of  the  teacher's  work  to  the  individual  the  greater 
the  teacher's  success. 

Again,  each  life  is  immeasurably  influenced  by  its  environ- 
ment. No  teacher  can  understand  a  pupil  without  knowing 
what  has  entered  into  his  life.  "I  am  a  part  of  all  that  I  have 
met."  The  home  and  the  daily  surroundings  are  the  explanation 
of  what  the  pupil  is  and  an  index  to  what  he  needs.  This 
specific  knowledge  can  come  only  through  close  personal  observa- 
tion and  sympathetic  intimacy  with  the  pupil.  In  this  intimacy 
is  revealed  the  pathway  to  the  heart,  as  it  winds  through  ambi- 
tions and  interests  and  love.  Unless  the  teacher  find  this  path 
to  the  tender,  responsive  place  whose  gateway  each  soul  keeps 
for  itself,  the  seed  must  fall  on  the  stony  ground  where  ger- 
mination is  impossible. 


142  The  Book 

Test  Questions 

1.  Since  laws  of  life  are  known,  what  two  conclusions  follow? 

2.  Give  four  reasons  why  the  Sunday-school  teacher  should 
know  the  pupU. 

3.  What  twofold  knowledge  about  the  pupil  should  the  teacher 
have? 

4.  How  has  the  Sunday-school  recognized  the  changing  life 
of  the  pupil? 

5.  Give  three  characteristics  of  development. 

6.  How  may  specific  knowledge  of  the  pupil  be  gained  by  the 
teacher? 


Lesson  2 

The  Beginners  Age,  Three  to  Five,  Inclusive 

5.  General  Characteristics 

(i)  Absorption.  The  Beginners  period,  together  with  the 
Primary,  Junior,  and  Intermediate  periods,  is  pre-eminently 
the  absorptive  time  of  life.  As  the  possibilities  of  the  soul  begin 
to  awaken,  curiosity,  imitation,  imagination,  feeling  and  all 
the  manifold  expressions  of  its  power,  they  require  food  and 
exercise  just  as  the  body  requires  them  to  develop  strength. 
Hence  these  years  of  mo.st  rapid  development  are  the  years  of 
greatest  hunger,  physical  and  mental,  of  greatest  capacity  to 
receive  and  assimilate,  and  of  greatest  activity. 

(2)  Rounded  development.  These  periods  are  also  the  years 
of  rounded  development.  Every  part  of  the  body  is  growing 
arid  every  power  of  the  soul.  While  development  is  not  per- 
fectly symmetrical  and  balanced,  as  for  example,  feeling  develop- 
ing strength  before  reason,  imagination  before  self-control,  it  is 
nevertheless  all-sided  and  requires  in  consequence  nourishment 
and  activity  in  every  part. 

Conditions  change  as  maturity  approaches  and  development 
becomes  more  and  more  narrowed  to  a  special  line.  The  muscles 
of  the  blacksmith's  arm  increase  in  strength,  the  fingers  of  the 
violinist  grow  more  flexible,  the  imagination  of  the  poet  more 
beautiful,  the  analytic  power  of  the  lawyer  more  keen,  until 
physical  and  mental  power  begin  to  break;  but,  outside  of  the 
specialty,  growth  and  development  practically  cease  because  of 
the  cessation  of  nourishment  and  activity  on  other  sides. 

6.  Special  Characteristics 

(i)  Restlessness.  This  is  the  most  restless  period  of  all  the 
Sunday-school  life.  A  surplus  of  activity  is  generated  in  the 
body,  and  it  must  be  expended  if  the  child  is  to  be  in  a  healthy 
condition,  as  well  as  in  a  normal,  happy  mental  state. 

But  the  outgo  of  this  activity  should  do  more  than  merely 
reduce  pressure,  as  the  escape  of  steam  from  a  safety  valve.  It 
is  a  law  of  life  that  we  both  understand  and  retain  most  thor- 

143 


144  The  Book 

oughly  the  thing  we  do.  This  abounding  activity  is  God's 
great  provision  for  enabling  the  child  to  make  his  own  that 
which  he  is  receiving  through  his  senses.  It  is  handling  and 
eating  the  apple  that  makes  him  understand  what  it  is.  It  is 
playing  that  he  is  the  father  or  the  Sunday-school  teacher,  per- 
forming the  act  of  helpfulness  and  love  that  enables  him  to 
enter  into  the  meaning  of  these  relations  and  duties  of  life. 

The  problem  of  the  Sunday-school  teacher  then  is  not  "How 
can  I  keep  the  child  still,"  but  "How  can  I  make  this  activity 
teach  the  child;"  for,  re-emphasizing  the  thought,  "The  child 
understands  and  remembers  the  action  far  better  than  the 
admonition." 

(2)  Imitation.  The  activity  of  this  period  is  distinctly 
imitative.  Just  as  the  child  must  learn  to  form  letters  by  copy- 
ing them  before  he  can  develop  an  individual  style  of  writing, 
so  he  must  learn  right  action  by  imitating  it  before  he  can  be 
independent  and  original.  Every  time  a  child  imitates  an  action 
he  understands  its  meaning  better,  he  fixes  it  more  securely  in 
memory  and  he  also  makes  its  repetition  so  much  the  easier. 

It  is  important,  therefore,  to  note  what  he  naturally  imitates. 
In  this  period  it  is  some  definite  act,  not  the  spirit  nor  life  of  the 
actor.  He  does  not  aspire  to  resemble  the  character  of  the 
teacher,  but  he  does  try  to  speak  and  move  and  look  as  she  does. 
As  the  action  is  performed,  the  life  unconsciously  but  surely 
becomes  like  the  one  who  is  imitated. 

(3)  Curiosity.  Because  the  child  has  everything  to  learn 
God  has  made  him  want  to  learn  everything.  As  physical 
hunger  arouses  an  effort  to  supply  the  need  for  physical  food, 
so  mental  hunger  or  curiosity  arouses  an  effort  to  supply 
mental  food.  It  is  most  active  in  the  period  of  greatest  absorp- 
tion, when  the  life  must  store  for  future  use.  There  are  two 
points  in  relation  to  curiosity  which  it  is  important  for  the 
Sunday-school  teacher  to  remember. 

(a)  Its  field  of  operation,  or  that  toward  which  it  is 
directed.  Curiosity  is  selective,  going  out  only  toward 
those  things  in  which  the  life  is  interested.  In  this  period 
the  child's  interests  are  in  activities  in  Nature  and  every- 
day life  and  in  the  things  about  him;  but  he  desires  to 


Lesson  2  145 

know  only  the  simplest  facts  concerning  them.  What  the 
object  is,  where  it  came  from,  and  what  it  will  do,  usually 
satisfy  his  curiosity  regarding  it.  The  teacher,  therefore, 
is  guided  in  the  selection  of  what  shall  be  given  the  child 
in  a  lesson. 

(b)  Its  channels  of  operation  or  that  through  which  it 
acts.  The  channels  through  which  curiosity  reaches  out 
for  knowledge  and  brings  back  the  results  of  its  search  are 
the  senses.  Every  waking  moment  finds  them  taking  in 
sensations  which  are  carried  to  the  brain  through  the 
nervous  system.  The  more  perfect  the  senses  in  their 
working  the  more  correct  the  message  they  bring.  Failure 
to  learn  and  inattention  are  usually  caused  by  some  defect 
in  the  senses  or  other  part  of  the  body. 

While  an  adult  can  arrive  at  new  ideas  through  other 
ideas,  the  child  must  receive  practically  all  his  ideas 
through  his  senses.  This  guides  the  teacher  as  to  the 
method  of  presenting  the  lesson. 

(4)  Fancy.  This  is  the  early  form  of  imagination,  unleashed 
and  untrammeled,  which  transforms  objects,  gives  soul  to 
inanimate  things  and  creates  for  the  child  his  own  beautiful 
play  world. 

(5)  Self-interest.  The  beginner  himself  is  the  center  of  his 
little  world.  His  thinking  and  his  feeling  revolve  around  his 
own  personality,  and  his  own  advantage  is  the  thing  he  con- 
stantly seeks.  This  is  God's  order  of  development.  The  con- 
sideration for  others  will  follow  later,  but  even  now  the  child 
may  be  led  into  loving,  unselfish  acts  through  imitation  and 
personal  influence. 

(6)  Faith.  Perhaps  the  better  term  in  the  beginning  would 
be  credulity,  for  faith  is  confidence  which  has  a  basis  in  knowl- 
edge, and  knowledge  does  not  necessarily  enter  into  a  child's 
belief.  Anything  an  older  person  tells  him  is  accepted  unques- 
tioningly,  no  matter  of  what  sort  it  may  be. 

This  means  a  great  responsibility  and  an  unequaled  oppor- 
tunity in  the  matter  of  religious  instruction.     The  stories  of 
God's  power  and  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  are  absorbed  into  the 
life,  neither  proof  nor  explanation  being  necessary  nor  indeed 
10 


146  The  Pupil 

comprehensible.  As  the  stories  multiply  in  the  home  and  the 
Sunday-school  that  which  was  credulity  at  first  becomes  genuine 
faith.  The  child  does  not  reason  that  God  will  do  because  he 
has  done,  but  a  feeling  of  the  Divine  strength  and  love  grips 
him  and  out  of  this  feeling  grows  loving  confidence  in  the  One 
who  first  loved  him.  If  a  child  passes  through  the  Beginners 
department  without  this  response,  his  teacher  has  been  out  of 
touch  with  her  Lord. 

Test  Questions 

1 .  What  are  the  age  limits  of  the  Beginners  period ? 

2.  What  are  the  general  characteristics  of  the  Beginners  Age? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of  these  years  of 
absorption? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  rounded  development? 

5.  Name  six  special  characteristics  of  the  Beginners  Age. 

6.  What  is  the  purpose  of  a  child's  abounding  activity? 

7.  What  is  gained  by  a  child  when  he  imitates  an  action? 

8.  What  two  points  about  a  child's  curiosity  is  it  important 
for  a  teacher  to  know? 

9.  Who  is  the  center  of  the  little  child's  world? 

10.  By  what  means  is  true  faith  developed  in  a  child? 


Lesson  3 
Beginners  Age  (Concluded) 

7.  Opportunities  of  the  Beginners  Age. — (i)  SJmping  char- 
acter through  influence.  There  are  two  ways  of  touching  a  life — 
the  one  through  definite  instruction,  which  must  be  understood 
to  avail  anything;  the  other  through  unconscious  influence 
which  is  felt,  not  necessarily  comprehended.  The  mind  of  the 
beginner  is  awake  and  active,  but  he  can  grasp  little  instruction 
beyond  simplest  facts  about  concrete  things.  Right  and  wrong, 
unselfishness,  love,  all  the  abstract  standards  and  principles  of 
life,  he  cannot  comprehend  intellectually,  but  he  absorbs  the 
influences  that  go  out  from  them,  and  what  is  felt  is  always 
more  powerful  than  that  which  lodges  only  in  the  head.  During 
the  first  six  years  of  life  the  child  is  peculiarly  sensitive  to  every 
influence  that  comes  to  him  out  of  his  environment,  and  these, — 
not  instruction, — determine  what  he  shall  be.  No  amount  of 
teaching  upon  the  subject  of  flowers  and  birds  and  trees  can 
arouse  the  joy  and  gratitude  which  a  drive  through  the  country 
on  a  glorious  spring  morning  awakens.  No  number  of  lessons 
upon  self-control  will  make  the  impression  upon  the  heart  which 
the  sight  of  it  in  another  makes.  The  child  cannot  understand 
the  nature  and  necessity  of  reverence,  but  he  will  feel  it,  if  that 
be  the  influence  of  the  Sunday-school  hour. 

(2)  Shaping  character  through  imitation.  The  actions  in  this 
period  which  result  from  instruction  are  few  compared  to  those 
which  come  from  the  instinct  of  imitation;  therefore  what  the 
teacher  is  unable  to  do  through  precept  she  can  accomplish 
through  the  power  of  example  and  story. 

(3)  Imparting  simple  spiritual  truths.  These  must  be  truths 
with  whose  earthly  likenesses  the  child  is  familiar.  This  will 
make  possible  stories  of  God's  power  as  Creator,  his  love  and  care 
as  Heavenly  Father,  stories  of  Jesus  as  the  loving  Friend  and 
Helper  of  little  children,  and  the  necessity  of  obedience  to  his 
commands. 

H7 


148  The  Pupil 

8.  Needs  of  the  Beginners  Age. — If  the  opportunities  of 
this  period  are  to  be  realized,  four  things  are  necessary: 

(i)  A  Christlike  teacher.  While  influences  go  out  from 
everything, — people,  circumstances,  conditions,  even  inanimate, 
senseless  things, — a  human  life  radiates  the  strongest  influence. 
It  has  a  twofold  effect  upon  a  little  child:  he  not  only  feels  the 
influence,  but  it  also  moves  him  to  imitate  the  person.  He  may 
forget  the  lesson,  he  may  not  have  comprehended  it  at  all,  but 
he  has  absorbed  the  teacher  during  the  hour  and  he  will  try 
to  reproduce  what  she  has  said  and  done  even  to  her  very  tone, 
expression  and  manner.  If  his  model  be  a  gentle  voice  or  a 
loving  word,  the  very  act  of  imitating  it  makes  him  gentler 
and  more  tender,  and  what  exhortation  may  not  secure,  influ- 
ence and  imitation  will  bring.  Therefore  a  teacher  will  do  her 
strongest  work  with  a  beginner  by  being  like  Jesus  Christ. 

{2)  A  suggestive  atmosphere.  Atmosphere  represents  the 
sum  total  of  all  the  influences  at  a  given  time.  The  soft  music 
of  the  organ,  the  dim  light,  the  stillness,  the  attitude  of  prayer, 
all  create  an  atmosphere  to  which  reverence  and  worship  are  the 
natural  response.  In  confusion  and  bustle,  with  loud  voice 
and  impatient  movement  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  there  could 
be  only  restlessness  and  irreverence  and  inattention  on  the  part 
of  the  child.  The  atmosphere  must  suggest  to  the  pupil  that 
which  the  teacher  desires  from  him,  be  he  beginner  or  adult, 
for  feeling  and  action  are  more  influenced  by  atmosphere  than 
admonition.  The  greatest  work  for  the  hour  will  have  been 
accomplished  if  the  child  shall  feel  that  the  Lord  was  in  that 
place,  though  he  knew  it  not,  intellectually, 

(3)  Right  direction  of  activity.  The  activity  of  the  child  may 
prevent  his  receiving  any  benefit  from  the  instruction,  or  it  may 
be  the  most  effective  means  for  fastening  impressions.  It  is 
such  a  constant  and  prominent  factor  in  the  problem  of  the 
hour's  work  that  the  teacher  must  plan  beforehand  just  how  it 
shall  be  directed.  In  addition  to  opportunities  for  general 
movement,  such  as  rising  for  songs,  or  marching,  every  thought 
given  to  the  child  should  have  some  action  immediately  connected 
with  it  as  far  as  possible,  both  to  help  him  remember  it  and 
make  it  easier  for  succeeding  actions  to  follow      For  example, 


Lesson  3  149 

if  the  lesson  is  upon  helpfulness,  each  child  should  be  led  into 
doing  something  for  his  neighbor  before  he  leaves.  A  prayer 
attitude  should  accompany  prayer.  As  this  is  the  rhythmic 
period,  motions  which  the  children  themselves  suggest  may 
accompany  the  songs.  The  results  of  directing  the  activity 
into  helpful  channels  will  be  found  in  better  memory  of  the 
lesson  and  in  the  starting  of  right  habits  of  action. 

(4)  An  imiiable  activity  in  the  lesson.  In  simplest  facts  set 
forth  in  a  story  of  a  person,  not  in  exhortation,  the  lesson  must 
make  vivid  and  attractive  an  activity  which  the  child  can 
imitate.  The  more  realistic  the  portrayal,  the  more  surely  will 
the  child  attempt  to  reproduce  it. 

9.  Difficulties  in  the  Beginners  Age. — The  difficulties  of 
this  period  arise  largely  from  the  child's  immaturity  and  are  to 
be  overcome  by  adaptation  of  methods  and  instruction. 

(i)  Restlessness  and  lack  of  self-control,  making  sustained 
attention  impossible.  A  program  consisting  of  brief  exercises, 
varied  in  character,  full  of  interest,  and  permitting  frequent 
movement,  will  meet  this  condition. 

(2)  Limited  experience  and  scanty  store  of  ideas.  This  neces- 
sitates careful  selection  of  teaching  material,  that  spiritual  truth 
outside  the  child's  comprehension  be  not  forced  upon  him, 
since  he  can  grasp  only  that  which  is  like  something  that  he 
knows. 

(3)  A  limited  vocabulary.  This  calls  for  watchful  care  in  lan- 
guage, particularly  lest  a  familiar  word  be  used  in  a  sense 
unfamiliar  to  the  child. 

(4)  A  conflicting  home  atmosphere.  When  the  child  absorbs 
influences  that  lack  Jesus  Christ  during  seven  days  in  the  week, 
only  a  teacher  filled  with  Divine  life  and  power  can  effect  counter- 
conditions  more  powerful  in  the  brief  time  of  her  contact. 

10.  Results  to  be  Expected  in  the  Beginners  Age. — 
Summing  up  the  results  already  suggested,  the  work  in  the 
Beginners  department  wUl  make  its  impress  upon  the  feelings 
of  the  child,  primarily.  He  will  have  learned  some  truths 
about  the  Heavenly  Father,  and  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  there 
is  an  intellectual  value  in  these.  But  this  value  cannot  compare 
with  that  of  the  love  and  trust  which  come  unconsciously,  yet 


I50  The  Pupil 

really,  into  his  soul,  if  the  teacher  has  done  her   work  with 
God. 

Test  Questions 

1.  In  what  two  ways  may  life  be  touched? 

2.  Give   illustrations   of   what    is   known   as   "unconscious 
influence." 

3.  What    methods    accomplish   more  than    precepts  with 
Beginners? 

4.  What  spiritual  truths  can  be  taught  in  this  period? 

5.  Name  four  needs  of  the  Beginners  Age. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  "atmosphere"?     How  utilized? 

7.  How  may  the  child's  activity  be  given  the  right  direction? 

8.  Name  four  difficulties  in  the  Beginners  period. 

9.  How  may  res^essness  be  overcome? 

10.  What  special  care  is  needed  in  the  teacher's  choice  of  words? 

1 1 .  What  are  some  of  the  results  to  be  expected  in  the  Beginners 
Age? 


Lesson  4 

The  Primary  Age — Six  to  Eight,  Inclusive 

11.  General  Characteristics  of  the  Primary  Age. — The 
Beginner  is  easily  traced  in  the  Primary  child,  but  more  de- 
veloped and  stronger.  Two  general  characteristics  may  be 
specially  mentioned: 

(i)  Broader  interests.  Curiosity  is  increasingly  active  con- 
cerning things  with  which  the  senses  come  in  contact,  yet  the 
child  in  the  Primary  period  is  able  to  reach  beyond  that  which  he 
can  see  or  handle.  He  cares  nothing  for  abstractions  like 
missions,  or  patriotism,  or  temperance,  but  his  interest  is  genuine 
in  the  people  and  actions  back  of  the  abstraction.  It  is  a  law  of 
the  soul  that  interest  in  a  certain  thing  will  extend  to  other 
things  related  to  it.  This  makes  it  possible  for  the  teacher  to 
take  the  child  far  into  the  field  of  knowledge,  provided  the 
starting-point  be  something  in  which  the  child  is  naturally 
interested. 

(2)  Greater  mental  power.  While  the  child  does  not  reason 
as  an  adult,  he  enjoys  thinking  for  himself.  The  Primary 
teacher  who  gives  him  predigested  lessons,  tells  him  everything 
in  the  picture,  asks  no  questions,  and  does  not  lead  him  on  to 
arrive  at  any  conclusions  for  himself,  not  only  fails  to  obtain 
results  that  are  possible,  but  really  retards  the  child's  develop- 
ment. Personal  effort  must  precede  increase  of  strength  in 
soul  as  well  as  body. 
12.  Special  Characteristics  of  the  Primary  Age. 
(i)  Physical  activity.  In  place  of  the  restlessness  of  the 
preceding  period,  activity  directed  toward  more  definite  ends 
appears.  It  is  very  important  that  the  activity  be  expended 
rightly,  since  its  use  in  every  action  strengthens  some  one  of  the 
rapidly  forming  habits. 

(2)  Power  of  perception.  This  is  the  ability  of  the  mind  to 
understand  the  sensations  which  senses  and  nerves  send  to  the 
brain,  or  to  interpret  their  meaning;  as,  for  example,  to  know  that 
the  round  yellow  ball  is  an  orange,  or  to  recognize  the  different; 

151 


152  The  Pupil 

details  in  a  picture.  Perception  grows  constantly  more  quick 
and  active  as  the  child's  store  of  knowledge  increases.  Two 
things  must  be  remembered:  (a)  the  teacher  must  be  sure  that 
the  first  idea  of  anything  is  the  correct  one,  for  it  will  be  erad- 
icated with  difficulty,  and  upon  it  all  future  thinking  in  that  line 
will  be  based ;  (b)  since  each  sensation  produces  an  idea  embody- 
ing itself,  and  it  is  on  these  ideas  that  the  soul  is  nourished, 
character  must  grow  in  quality  like  its  food.  "Tell  me  what 
you  eat  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you  are," 

(3)  Memory.  The  mind  has  greater  power  to  retain  that 
which  is  given  to  it  than  in  the  preceding  period,  though  it  holds 
these  facts  disconnectedly  rather  than  related  into  systematic 
knowledge,  as  they  will  be  later.  But  this  power  of  retention 
must  not  be  abused  through  storing  memory  with  a  quantity  of 
useless  material.  That  which  is  impressed  upon  the  plastic, 
non-resisting  cells  of  the  child's  brain  ought  to  have  some 
immediate  meaning  and  value  for  the  life  at  a  time  when  the 
intellectual  and  spiritual  needs  are  so  many. 

(4)  hnaglnation.  This  is  the  power  of  the  mind  to  make 
living  and  real  that  which  is  not  present  to  the  senses.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  the  Primary  period  and 
one  of  the  most  important  as  well.  The  imagination  works  only 
with  concrete  things  in  childhood,  making  new  objects  out  of 
the  old,  making  the  story  and  the  mental  picture  as  real  as  the 
tangible  experience,  making  Jesus  an  actual  present  Helper  and 
Friend.  Later  it  will  work  with  abstract  ideas  and  ideals  of 
life  formed  from  the  pictures  it  has  cherished. 

13.  Opportunities  of  the  Primary  Age. 

(i)  Character  building  through  the  mental  picture.  Abstract  ideas 
about  which  the  mind  reasons  do  not  have  power  over  the  soul  of 
the  child.  It  is  the  vivid  picture  which  imagination  holds  that 
arouses  the  feeling  and  impels  the  action.  So  great  is  the  power 
of  the  picture  that  the  teacher  need  not  exhort  and  admonish 
concerning  what  ought  to  be  done.  She  only  need  set  forth  the 
action  in  a  story  that  appeals,  and  imagination  will  do  the 
rest.  While  very  many  of  these  pictures  come  unconsciously 
to  the  child  from  his  environment,  it  is  the  privilege  of  the 
teacher  definitely  and  carefully  to  provide  the  highest  type  of 


Lesson  4  153 


mental  picture  through  the  well-selected  story,  in  order  to  secure 
the  finest  action. 

(2)  Increased  knowledge  of  Bible  facts.  The  lesson  may 
contain  more  than  in  the  earlier  period,  because  the  child's 
interest  in  details  has  increased  and  he  has  greater  power  of 
attention.  It  is  important  to  note,  however,  in  what  the 
increase  may  consist.  It  is  not  in  the  number  of  truths  pre- 
sented in  the  lesson,  but  in  the  number  of  details  concerning  the 
one  truth  for  which  the  lesson  stands.  Since  the  mind  has 
developed  new  power  to  hold  the  impressions  which  are  made 
upon  it.  Scripture  verses  containing  fundamental  truths,  like 
God's  love  and  care,  the  duty  of  love  toward  him  and  others, 
and  the  necessity  of  obedience  may  be  given,  with  explanation, 
for  memorizing. 

(3)  Service  prompted  through  imitation  and  personal  influence. 
The  activity  should  even  now  be  tracing  pathways  in  the 
brain  that  shall  mean  life  habits  of  loving  service  for  others. 
There  is  this  difference,  however,  between  service  in  childhood 
and  later.  The  motives  must  now  be  supplied  and  strengthened 
by  others;  later  the  promptings  will  come  from  within. 

14.  Needs  of  the  Primary  Age. — In  addition  to  the  needs 
mentioned  in  the  Beginners  period,  and  which  still  obtain,  there 
are  two  to  be  especially  borne  in  mind. 

(i)  The  absolute  necessity  of  knowing  how  to  make  spiritual 
truth  live  in  story  form,.  The  child  can  receive  it  in  no  other 
way,  and  there  is  therefore  no  substitute  for  a  rightly  prepared 
story  given  by  a  spiritually  prepared  teacher. 

(2)  The  necessity  for  the  child  to  learn  obedience  in  the  use  of 
his  activity.  This  is  to  be  secured  not  by  force,  but  because  the 
one  to  whom  it  is  to  be  rendered  wins  it  through  love  and  the 
power  of  personality. 

15.  Difficulties  in  the  Primary  Age. — There  will  still  be 
difficulties  in  attention  and  in  confining  the  instruction  to  that 
which  the  child  can  really  grasp,  but  the  greatest  difficulty  will 
center  about  the  activity.  Yet  the  whole  problem  will  be 
solved  with  no  harsh  question  of  discipline  if  the  child  is  kept 
constantly  busy  with  that  in  which  he  is  interested. 

16.  Results  to  be  Expected  in  the  Primary  Age. — If  the 


154  The  Pupil 

teacher  has  met  her  opportunity,  there  will  be  growing  love  to 
Jesus  Christ,  the  beginning  of  service  for  him,  and  deep  down 
in  the  soul  of  the  child  an  increasing  store  of  material  out  of 
which  life  ideals  are  to  be  fashioned  in  the  days  to  come. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Name  two  general  characteristics  of  the  Primary  Age. 
What  years  are  included? 

2.  How  are  the  child's  broader  interests  shown? 

3.  What  method  of  teaching  can  hinder  the  child's  growing 
mental  power? 

4.  Name  four  special  characteristics  of  the  Primary  Age. 

5.  What  is  meant  by  power  of  perception?     Illustrate  it. 

6.  How  may  memory  be  abused? 

7.  What  is  imagination? 

8.  Name  three  opportunities  of  the  Primary  Age. 

9.  What  does  a  well-defined  mental  picture  lead  to  in  the 
child's  mind? 

10.  Why  may  a  lesson  contain  more  than  in  the   Beginners 
period? 

11.  How  does  the  source  of  motives  toward  service  differ  in 
childhood  as  compared  with  later  life? 

12.  Name  two  needs  of  the  Primary  Age. 

13.  Name  some  of  the  difficulties. 

14.  What  results  may  be  expected? 


Lesson  5 

Junior  Age— Nine  to  Twelve,  Inclusive 

17.  General  Characteristics. — A  broad  survey  of  this  period 
reveals  the  fact  that  in  a  peculiar  way  God  is  preparing  life  for 
entrance  upon  the  larger  opportunities  and  responsibilities  of 
maturity.  There  is  new  physical  strength,  new  intellectual 
vigor,  greater  power  of  absorption  and  assimilation,  a  wider 
diffusion  of  interest.  The  curiosity  of  earlier  years  becomes  a 
real  spirit  of  investigation  along  lines  of  interest,  and  questioning, 
not  alone  to  find  out  facts,  but  also  foundations  of  belief  begins 
to  appear.  The  individuality  of  each  child  stands  out  more 
distinctly  and  emphasizes  itself  in  two  marked  ways — first,  the 
desire  for  prominence,  and,  second,  an  independence  of  spirit 
and  action.  Yet,  with  all  this  independence,  the  boys  and 
girls  are  easily  dealt  with  if  authority  is  administered  by  one 
whose  personality  has  commanded  respect  and  love. 

18.  Specific  Characteristics. 

(i)  Energy, — physical  and  mental.  Though  this  has  already 
been  referred  to  in  a  general  way,  it  must  have  special  mention 
as  one  of  the  most  marked  and  important  features  of  the  Junior 
period.  Physical  vigor  is  apparent  in  the  force  of  bodily  move- 
ments so  trying  to  sensitive  nerves — God's  provision  for  the 
excess  of  nervous  activity.  It  also  appears  in  the  type  of  games 
belonging  to  this  period  and  the  intensity  with  which  they  are 
played.  The  new  mental  power  is  evident  in  the  ability  to 
perform  more  difficult  and  complex  mental  tasks,  to  reason 
more  clearly,  and  to  attend  more  closely. 

(2)  Development  of  the  social  instinct.  These  years  mark  the 
rapid  development  of  insistent  and  insatiable  desire  for  close 
companionship  with  others.  There  are  no  standards  of  attain- 
ment nor  social  distinctions  according  to  which  friends  are 
chosen.  The  "gang"  or  the  club  is  based  entirely  on  kinship  of 
spirit  among  those  of  the  same  age  and  sex.  Often  geographical 
lines  enter  in,  and  the  boys  of  a  certain  street  or  district  will 
band  together,  and  not  uncommonly  be  the  sworn  enemies  of 

155 


156  The  Pupil 

other  gangs  for  no  more  valid  reason  than  love  of  contest, 
growing  out  of  the  instinct  of  rivalry.  But  this  martial  aspect 
of  gang  life  is  not  a  characteristic  of  all  the  social  tendency  of 
the  period.  There  is  a  drawing  of  child  to  child  for  peaceable 
purposes,  the  joy  of  common  sympathies  and  interests  and  the 
fun  of  expeditions  and  good  times  together.  This  social  awaken- 
ing is  God's  plan  for  leading  the  life  into  larger  relationships 
preparatory  to  taking  its  place  in  the  world.  What  the  com- 
panionship is  in  its  influence  upon  character  and  ideals  is  the 
serious  question  for  the  home  and  the  Sunday-school  teacher. 

(3)  Hero-worship.  This  is  pre-eminently  the  hero-worshiping 
period,  with  all  that  means  in  incentive  to  effort,  in  patterns  of 
life,  in  imitation,  in  character-building.  In  mature  years,  the 
ideal  of  life  is  either  a  composite  from  many  lives  or,  if  it  be  one 
individual,  a  dissected  individual,  certain  qualities  picked  out 
for  admiration  and  emulation, — and  over  the  rest,  a  mantle  of 
charity.  This  analysis  of  character  and  discrimination  is 
possible  only  to  an  intelligent  and  developed  life.  The  child 
accepts  his  hero  in  his  entirety.  Whatever  he  does  is  right  and 
is  the  goal  of  effort  in  imitation. 

The  physical  element  enters  largely  into  the  ideal  of  this 
period  because  of  the  prominence  of  the  physical  in  the  child's 
life,  and,  unhappily,  physical  and  moral  strength  are  not  always 
balanced.  Too  much  of  the  literature  written  to  supply  the 
ravenous  desire  of  this  age  for  reading  portrays  physical  strength 
in  criminal  and  in  daredevil  molds,  and  the  moral  side  of  the 
ideal  is  not  only  unfed,  but  perverted.  The  Sunday-school 
teacher  must  help  the  home  at  this  point  to  supply  the  boys 
and  girls,  through  books  and  living  personality,  with  all  the 
elements  of  worthy  and  imitable  ideals,  since  the  task  of  finally 
shaping  these  ideals  lies  in  the  years  just  beyond. 

(4)  Memory  in  the  height  of  its  power.  The  broader  the 
responsibilities  to  be  assumed,  the  greater  the  demand  upon  the 
soul's  resources  to  meet  them.  Just  at  the  threshold  of  a  larger 
life,  the  mind  comes  into  its  greatest  power  of  retention.  During 
the  years  from  about  nine  to  fifteen,  conditions  never  to  return 
so  favorably  make  possible  the  fullest,  broadest,  and  most 
accurate  storing  of  the  mind.    The  exact  wording  of  a  passage  of 


Lesson  5  157 

Scripture  is  as  easy  to  secure  as  the  general  sense  of  its  meaning 
Whole  chapters  do  not  tax  the  pupil  beyond  his  mental  ability. 
The  mechanical,  literal  side  of  instruction,  which  deals  with 
maps  and  names  and  facts  about  the  Word,  written  and  incarnate, 
should  now  be  given.  Held  tenaciously  and  exactly  in  memory, 
they  will  reveal  the  spiritual  treasure  they  contain  to  the  larger 
spiritual  vision  of  the  next  period.  The  careful  selection  and 
explanation  of  that  which  is  to  be  memorized,  so  necessary  in 
the  preceding  period,  is  not  as  necessary  during  these  years. 
The  enlarged  experience  of  the  child  will  make  some  meaning 
inhere  in  everything  which  is  brought  to  him,  so  that  it  is  not  the 
dead  weight  it  would  have  been  earlier.  Yet  an  abundant 
supply  of  food,  intellectual  and  spiritual,  for  the  present  needs 
of  an  active,  investigating,  and  tempted  life  must  not  be  over- 
looked in  eagerness  to  store  for  the  future. 

(5)  Hahit  formation.  The  two  physical  conditions  necessary 
for  habit  formation,  easily  impressed  brain  cells,  and  activity 
making  these  impressions,  are  at  their  best  during  this  period. 
Every  time  an  act  is  performed,  a  nervous  force  passes  through 
the  brain,  stimulating  nerves  and  muscles  to  action,  and  leav- 
ing the  trace  of  its  passage.  Each  repetition  of  the  action 
deepens  the  tracing,  until  little  pathways  are  established,  and 
the  nervous  force  follows  these  naturally  and  involuntarily. 
Sooner  than  is  realized  the  pathway  is  so  deep  that  only  by 
effort  can  a  given  thought  or  nervous  stimulus  express  itself 
in  any  other  way  than  by  passing  through  the  accustomed 
channels  out  into  the  old  action, — and  this  is  habit. 

The  early  stages  are  easy,  usually  unconscious,  but  any  change 
when  the  path  is  deep  and  the  cells  hardened  means  greatest 
effort,  and  often  unavaUing  struggle  with  self.  The  drunkard 
who  in  his  sober  moments  implores  the  saloon-keeper  to  refuse 
him  liquor,  no  matter  how  he  may  plead  for  it  later,  reveals  the 
fact  that  habit  or  the  tendency  to  follow  the  old  brain  paths 
may  become  stronger  than  desire  and  will  and  all  outer  human 
influence  and  incentives  combined.  Therefore  the  habit-forming 
period,  when  pathways  may  be  traced  in  any  direction,  becomes 
one  of  the  most  responsible  and  wonderful  of  the  life. 


158  The  Pupil 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  general  characteristics  of  the  Junior 
Age?     The  years  included? 

2.  Name  five  specific  characteristics  of  the  Junior  Age. 

3.  How  does  energy  show  itself  at  this  time? 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  signs  of  the  social  instinct? 

5.  What  is  the  great  purpose  of  that  instinct? 

6.  How  may  hero-worship  be  used  by  the  teachers? 

7.  What  teaching  material   is  peculiarly  well  suited  to  the 
memory-activity  of  this  period? 

8.  What  is  the  process  by  which  habit  is  created? 

Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  1  to  5 

1.  Give  several  reasons  why  it  is  important  for  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  to  know  the  pupil. 

2.  How  may  the  teacher  best  come  to  know  the  pupil? 

3.  What  are  the  special  characteristics  of  children  of  the 
Beginners  age? 

4.  How  would  you  develop  true  faith  in  a  child? 

5.  What  is  the  difference  between  influence  and  precept? 
Illustrate  both. 

6.  How  would  you   guide  a  child's  activity  in  the  right 
direction? 

7.  What  results  may  properly  be  looked  for  in  the  Beginners 
age? 

8.  What  general  difference  is  there  between  children  of  the 
Beginners  and  the  Primary  age? 

9.  Describe  and  illustrate  perception,  memory,  and  imagina- 
tion. 

10.  What   is  the   difference   between   children's   and   grown 
people's  motives  for  service? 

1 1 .  Mention  several  characteristics  of  the  Junior  age. 

12.  What  is  the  social  instinct,  and  how  does  it  show  itself? 

13.  What  sort  of  teaching  material  is  well  adapted  to  the 
Junior  age? 


l/csson  6 
Junior  Age  (Concluded) 

19.  Opportunities  of  the  Junior  Age. — No  period  offers 
opportunities  bearing  more  directly  and  openly  upon  the  for- 
mation of  character  than  the  Junior  period,  when  manhood- 
and  womanhood-to-be  are  so  rapidly  determining.  Out  of 
these  opportunities  five  may  be  selected  as  most  significant : 

(i)  The  opportunity  to  gain  spiritual  ends  through  social  means. 
The  more  a  teacher  can  enter  into  the  fun-loving,  companion- 
ship-craving side  of  the  pupil's  heart  the  greater  his  power  over 
that  life  for  distinctly  spiritual  things.  It  is  after  the  party  or 
the  picnic  or  the  tramp  together  that  the  personal  message  can 
be  spoken. 

(2)  The  opportunity  to  arouse  and  to  guide  the  pupil's  effort 
through  heroic  ideals.  Sermonizing  on  what  they  should  do  is  prac- 
tically valueless  with  boys  and  girls  of  this  age,  for  considerations 
of  duty  weigh  little  until  the  larger  moral  consciousness  of  the 
next  period.  Furthermore,  they  live  but  for  the  day,  and  do  not 
appreciate  the  relationship  between  present  action  and  future 
character.  What  they  may  do  later  as  a  result  of  their  own 
convictions  and  understanding,  they  may  be  inspired  to  do  now 
through  the  hero  who  has  aroused  then  admiration  and  desire 
of  imitation. 

(3)  The  opportunity  to  establish  right  habits  of  life.  The  pathways 
of  service  through  which  the  Christian  life  ought  to  express  itself 
must  be  definitely  and  painstakingly  traced  in  this  period  and  the 
next.  Motives  for  the  action  may  not  be  the  highest,  and  must 
often  be  supplied  by  another.  For  example,  the  daily  Bible  read- 
ing that  ought  to  be  prompted  by  real  love  for  the  Word  later  may 
now  be  done  for  love  of  the  teacher — or  because  the  promise 
was  given,  but  in  any  event  it  is  leaving  its  indelible  impress — 
and  making  the  "Quiet  Hour"  more  assured  in  the  future. 

(4)  The  opportunity  to  build  Bible  knowledge  into  character. 
Impressions  are  necessary  and  effective  in  their  place,  but 
something  more  definite  is  needed  for  stability  of  character. 

159 


i6o  The  Pupil 


The  opportunity  of  supplementing  impressions  with  facts  is 
the  one  offered  by  this  Golden  Memory  period.  Two  points 
should  be  noted: 

(a)  The  mind  is  growing  in  its  power  to  associate  facts. 
The  association  of  events  around  a  person  or  a  place  is 
easUy  made  now,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  period  sequences 
of  time  and  cause  and  effect  are  grasped. 

(6)  The  Holy  Spirit  can  bring  to  the  remembrance  only 
that  which  has  been  in  the  mind.     Therefore  the  teacher 
who  stores  the  memory  at  this  time  with  Scripture  passages 
makes  it  possible  for  God  to  speak  to  the  heart  in  later  years. 
(5)   The  opportunity  to  lead  to  open  confession  of  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  not  to  force,  it  is  not  to  play  upon  the  child's  emotions, 
and  lead  him  to  do  that  which  has  no  foundation  in  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  relation  to  Christ,  but  something  is  radically 
wrong  in  the  home  and  something  lacking  in  the  teacher's  work, 
if  the  boys  and  girls  do  not  really  love  the  Lord  Jesus  in  this 
period.     They  do  not  understand  it  all,  but  the  essentials  of  a 
Christian  life  they  may  have, — love,  faith,  penitence  for  wrong- 
doing, and  the  desire  to  serve  Christ.     Their  experience  cannot 
be  that  of  an  adult,  for  they  have  not  his  insight.     But  just  as 
surely  as  the  love  and  caress  of  the  child  is  precious  and  accept- 
able to  a  mother   even  before   there  can  be  any  comprehension 
on  his  part  of  the  sacriificial  character  of  mother-love,  so  is  child- 
love  precious  and   accepted  with   the  Master  even  before  the 
child  grasps  the  great  spiritual  contents. 
20.  Needs  of  the  Junior  Age. 

(i)  The  presentation  of  Christianity  as  something  to  do  rather 
than  to  be.  The  boys  and  girls  do  not  live  in  inner  experiences 
in  these  years,  but  in  outward,  energetic  action;  therefore, 
what  they  may  do  for  Jesus  Christ  and  others  needs  emphasis. 
This  presentation  also  includes  a  Christ  who  appeals  to  boyhood 
and  girlhood,  the  wonder-worker  of  Mark,  the  God-Man  of  Mat- 
thew and  Luke,  and  the  victorious  King  of  Revelation. 

(2)  Opportunities  for  service.  These  must  be  carefully  devised 
by  the  teacher,  with  the  twofold  purpose  of  giving  immediate 
expression  to  the  desire  to  do  something  and  leading  to  the 
formation  of  habits  of  Christian  activity. 


Lesson  6  161 

(3)  Christian  heroes.  The  teacher  ought  to  be  a  Christian 
hero  himself.  Out  of  missionary  literature,  out  of  the  lives  of 
great  men  who  have  lived,  out  of  Bible  characters,  heroes  must 
be  multiplied.  The  Sunday-school  lessons  ought  to  be  hero 
studies,  not  sermons.  Heroic  literature  ought  to  be  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  children — either  directly  or  through  indirect 
suggestion  in  some  curiosity-arousing  reference  to  the  story. 
This  means  the  most  effective  type  of  instruction  during  all  the 
week  as  well  as  Sunday, 

(4)  A  lesson  requiring  work  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  Telling  a 
Junior  class  primary  stories  will  deplete  it  in  numbers  and  weaken 
it  in  strength.  Assigned  work  to  be  prepared  at  home,  questions, 
note-books,  map-making,  anything  to  stimulate  and  utilize  the 
activity  of  mind  and  body  through  interest,  not  compulsion,  is 
the  great  necessity  of  the  lesson  hour. 

21.  Difficulties  of  the  Junior  Age. — Three  difficulties  may 
be  encountered. 

(i)  A  misdirected  energy.  Energy  means  finest  growth  and 
development  if  it  is  under  direction  and  control,  but  devasta- 
tion otherwise.  The  key  to  the  situation  is  in  the  teacher's 
personality,  plus  a  plan  for  the  hour's  work,  appealing  to  interest 
and  calling  for  constant  activity,  either  mental  or  physical,  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil. 

(2)  Evil  associates.  The  teacher  cannot  guard  the  child 
through  the  seven  days  of  a  week ;  often  the  home  does  not,  and 
in  this  new  social  interest  there  is  a  danger  from  evil  associates. 
Better  pastoral  work  by  the  teacher,  a  closer  co-operation  with 
the  home,  and  substitutive — not  prohibitive — measures  avail 
much  in  meeting  this  difficulty. 

(3)  The  enticement  of  bad  literature.  This  period  and  the 
next  are  the  time  of  greatest  hunger  for  reading  and  there  is  a 
real  danger  from  the  temptations  of  pernicious  books.  Satan 
has  emissaries  on  the  school-grounds  and  in  the  candy  store,  and 
boys  and  girls  are  his  shining  marks.  The  substitutive  measures 
here  again  are  the  only  wise  and  effective  ones. 

22.  Results  to  be  Expected  in  the  Junior  Age. — The  results 
of  work  in  this  period  ought  to  appear  in  an  increase  in  Bible 
knowledge,  the  strengthening  of  right  habits  and  manly  ideals 


i62  The  Pupil 

of  life,  and  back  of  it  all  the  warm  love  of  boyhood  and  girlhood 
for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Test  Questions 

1.  How  may  spiritual  ends  best  be  gained? 

2.  How  may  the  pupil's  efforts  in  right  doing  be  aroused? 

3.  What  is  needed  in  this  period  in  addition  to  impressions? 

4.  What    essentials   of    the   Christian  life  may  the   pupils 
readily  have  at  this  period? 

5.  What  aspect  of  Christianity  appeals  most  to  pupils  of  this 
age? 

6.  What  method  of  teaching  should  be  substituted  for  story 
telling? 

7.  What  three  difficulties  may  be  encountered  in  the  Junior 
Age? 

8.  What  results  may  be  expected? 


Lesson  7 
The  Intermediate  Age— Twelve  to  Fifteen,  Inclusive 

23.  General  Character  of  the  Period  of  Adolescence. — The 

Intermediate  age  ushers  in  a  time  known  as  adolescence,  including 
the  years  approximately  from  twelve  to  twenty-four,  during  which 
life  passes  from  childhood  to  maturity.  The  period  is  marked 
by  the  development  of  new  physical  powers,  new  emotions,  new 
ideals  and  conceptions  of  life,  and  a  new  spiritual  consciousness. 
The  change  from  the  old  life  to  the  new,  from  the  narrow  to  the 
broad,  from  interests  selfish  and  small  to  interests  as  far-reaching 
as  the  world  and  eternity,  is  often  accompanied  by  more  or  less 
upheaval  in  the  soul  and  this  period  of  re-adjustment  may  be 
a  time  of  "storm  and  stress." 

Two  facts  out  of  the  many  suggest  the  critical  nature  of  adoles- 
cence: 

( 1 )  During  these  years  the  pupil  is  most  susceptible  to  the  power 
of  influence.  It  does  not  touch  his  life  simply  as  an  impression, 
but  as  an  impelling,  determining  force  inciting  him  to  action. 

(2)  Life  rarely  changes  in  its  tendencies  and  character  after 
full  maturity  has  come.  There  is  a  physical  reason  for  this  in 
the  hardening  of  the  brain  which  fixes  the  pathways  of  habit  and 
renders  new  lines  of  thought  and  action  difficult.  Therefore,  in 
all  probability  as  life  emerges  from  adolescence  will  it  enter 
eternity. 

24.  General  Characteristics  of  the  Intermediate  Age. — 
Many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Junior  age  are  still  evident, 
though  modified  by  fuller  development.  Physical  energy  has 
increased  and  the  mind  has  greater  power,  especially  in  its  ability 
to  reason.  No  disillusioning  has  come  to  destroy  the  old  hero- 
worship,  but  with  even  more  intensity  each  life  clings  to  that  one 
who  embodies  its  aspirations.  The  hunger  for  general  reading 
reaches  its  climax  in  this  period,  to  be  succeeded  by  specialized 
interest  in  lines  determined  by  the  taste  of  the  individual. 

Lacking  still  the  self-control  of  manhood,  breaking  from  the 

163 


i64  The  Pupil 

old  life  and  dimly  apprehending  as  yet  the  meaning  of  the  new, 
under  the  domination  of  impulse  and  influence  as  well  as  of  dawn- 
ing conviction,  the  Intermediate  age  offers  particularly  trying 
problems  with  its  great  opportunities. 

25.  Special  Characteristics  of  the  Intermediate  Age. 

(i)  The  functioning  of  new  physical  powers.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  significant  changes  in  the  Intermediate  period,  because  of 
its  physical  effects  and  its  reflex  influence  upon  the  mental  and 
emotional  life.  Severe  temptations  often  have  to  be  met,  ques- 
tioning and  unwise  introspection,  and  the  teacher  ought  to  be  a 
confidential  friend  as  well  as  instructor. 

(2)  A  condition  of  instability  and  easy  excitation.  The  nerv- 
ous system  is  abnormally  sensitive  and  quickly  disturbed.  The 
mind  is  keyed  to  vigorous,  intense,  and  often  unbalanced  thought, 
but  it  is  in  the  feelings  that  the  lack  of  poise  is  most  manifest. 
Whether  the  teacher  can  assign  causes  or  not,  he  is  conscious 
that  the  emotions  are  a  veritable  tinder-box,  easily  kindled  into 
a  great  fire  by  a  very  little  matter.  Superlatives,  slang,  and  the 
highest  pitches  of  enthusiasm  are  common  experience,  and  because 
action  and  reaction  are  equal  and  opposite,  periods  of  depression 
corresponding  to  those  of  exhilaration  are  almost  inevitable. 

(3)  A  new  personal  consciousness.  There  are  several  marked 
evidences  of  its  existence. 

(a)  Care  for  appearance.  In  the  beginning  of  this  period, 
what  others  think  is  a  matter  of  supreme  indifference,  but 
it  is  not  long  before  a  desire  to  appear  well  manifests  itself. 
Solicitude  as  to  one's  personal  looks  is  supplemented  by 
anxiety  over  the  condition  of  the  home,  the  standing  of  the 
family,  the  social  position  and  dress  of  the  companions. 
Naturally,  judgment  of  others  is  based  on  outward  appear- 
ance rather  than  on  real  worth  of  character. 

(b)  Desire  for  appreciation.  An  intense  longing  is 
experienced  to  have  talents,  accomplishments,  wits,  efforts 
— everything  which  pertains  to  self  valued  at  par  or  above. 
For  this  cause  there  is  frequent  public  parade  of  wares,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  smart  youth  or  the  girl  who  draws  atten- 
tion to  herself  by  loud  talking  and  laughter.  The  same 
longing  works  self-consciousness,  embarrassment,  and  awk- 


Lesson  7  165 

wardness  in  others  who  feel  themselves  deficient,  neither  class 
as  yet  apprehending  the  truth  that  character,  not  external 
show,  wins  the  truest  meed  of  praise  from  the  world. 

(c)  A  sense  of  approaching  manhood  and  womanhood. 
This  makes  the  life  sensitive  beyond  expression  to  reproof 
or  criticism,  particularly  in  public.  It  also  explains  the 
restlessness  and  desire  to  enter  at  once  upon  the  life-work. 

(4)  Increasing  Social  Appetite.  The  boy  who  said  in  answer 
to  a  remonstrance  over  his  presence  in  the  billiard  hall  and  bowl- 
ing alley,  "A  fellow  has  got  to  have  fun  somewhere,"  voiced  the 
sentiment  of  all  his  confreres  in  the  Intermediate  period.  The 
desire  for  good  times  is  paramount,  and  its  right  indisputable 
in  the  conception  of  the  young  people.  The  delight  in  healthy 
outdoor  sports  continues  with  the  athletically  inclined,  and  ought 
to  be  fostered  as  a  safety  valve  for  surplus  energy,  a  diverter  of 
self-centered  thought,  and  a  tonic  for  excitable  nerves.  In  the 
latter  part  of  this  period,  however,  the  love  of  fun  gives  place  to 
a  love  of  functions,  either  the  helpful  sort  of  social  commingling 
or  the  danger-filled  type,  marked  by  late  hours,  excitement,  and 
overwrought  imagination.  This  transition  comes  from  a  grow- 
ing mutual  attraction  between  the  sexes  which  has  succeeded 
the  repulsion  evident  in  the  early  part  of  the  period. 

(5)  The  Development  of  the  Altruistic  Feelings.  Though 
these  feelings  are  not  unknown  to  childhood,  their  vigorous 
development  does  not  begin  until  the  Intermediate  period.  The 
pupil  now  experiences  an  impulse  from  within  to  sacrifice  for 
others  and  make  his  life  a  source  of  blessing.  The  new  sense  of 
God  and  his  claims  intensifies  and  vitalizes  the  desires.  Unsel- 
fishness appears,  interest  in  the  welfare  of  others  as  well  as  self, 
and  willingness  to  do  for  them  even  at  personal  cost.  These  are 
the  feelings  that  make  it  possible  to  say  "Brother,"  and  to  love 
the  neighbor  as  one's  self.  They  can  come  only  as  the  meaning 
of  life  is  better  understood.  They  can  remain  only  as  they  are 
given  constant  expression  in  action. 

(6)  A  Spiritual  Awakening.  Even  though  the  pupil  may 
be  a  genuine  Christian,  there  comes  to  him  at  this  time  a  larger 
consciousness  of  God  and  the  soul's  relation  to  him,  and  with  it 
a  call  to  full  surrender.     Whereas  the  childhood  relation  to  God 


i66  The  Pupil 

was  based  on  feeling,  there  is  now  the  element  of  will-power  which 
must  ratify  by  deliberate  choice  that  which  love  has  prompted. 
If  the  pupil  is  not  a  Christian,  this  awakening  comes  as  God's 
call  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  and  crown  him  Lord  of 
the  life  as  well.  If  the  call  is  not  heeded  now,  its  tones  grow  less 
and  less  distinct,  until,  in  the  strident  cries  of  the  world,  they 
may  be  silenced  forever. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  meant  by  adolescence? 

2.  What  is  the  general  character  of  the  period? 

3.  What  two  facts  indicate  the  critical  nature  of  this  period? 

4.  What  six  special  characteristics  mark  this  period? 

5.  What  two  signs  of  personal  consciousness? 

6.  What  desire  is  paramount  at  this  time? 

7.  What    is    meant    by  altruistic  feelings?     Describe  their 
development. 

8.  What  new  element  now  enters  in   to  affect  the  relation 
to  God? 


Lesson  8 

The  Intermediate  Age  (Concluded) 

26.  Opportunities  of  the  Intermediate  Age. — There  is  a  sig- 
nificant difference  in  the  purpose  of  the  opportunities  presented 
during  childhood  and  during  adolescence.  If  they  were  to  be 
summed  up  in  key-words,  that  for  childhood  would  be  absorp- 
tion; for  adolescence,  adjustment. 

The  opportunities  of  childhood  converge  toward  supplying  the 
soul  with  material  needful  for  growth — influences,  impressions, 
and  a  mass  of  facts  more  or  less  unconnected  in  the  beginning. 
But  this  is  only  the  first  step  in  character  buildmg.  These  ma- 
terials must  be  arranged,  facts  must  be  related  to  one  another,  and 
the  life  must  be  related  to  other  lives  in  real  mterest,  sympathy, 
and  service.  This  process  of  relating  fact  to  fact,  life  to  life, 
and  each  soul  anew  to  God  is  the  paramount  task  of  adolescence, 
even  though  absorption  continues  with  almost  unabated  strength. 

Analyzing  the  opportunities  which  are  presented  to  the  Inter- 
mediate teacher  in  this  new  adjustment  of  life,  three  stand  out 
prominently : 

(i)  The  opportunity  to  foster  high  ideals.  Whether  it  be  con- 
sciously defined  or  not,  every  one  has  that  toward  which  ambitions 
and  effort  go  forth,  and  this  ideal  determines  what  character 
shall  be.  No  one  can  give  an  ideal  to  another,  as  a  book  is  handed 
over,  for  it  is  a  personal  thing,  to  be  fashioned  by  each  soul  for 
itself  out  of  that  which  it  has  absorbed  through  the  years. 

It  is  in  the  transition  from  childhood  to  maturity  that  every 
life  decides  what  (for  it)  seems  most  worth  while,  and  to  this  ideal 
makes  surrender  of  thought,  desire,  and  effort.  Is  not  God's 
gracious  purpose  evident,  in  that  this  is  the  time  when  life  is 
most  easily  influenced? 

(2)  Opportunity  to  develop  self-reliance.  A  life  cannot  count 
for  God  and  for  others  unless  it  can  make  decisions  and  meet  tests 
by  itself.  The  power  to  do  this  comes  only  through  effort  to  do 
it.  During  the  Intermediate  age,  the  young  people  may  be  more 
and  more  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  permitted  to  decide 

167 


i68  The  Pupil 

matters  for  themselves,  learning  wiser  judgment  through  mistakes 
as  well  as  successes.  One  of  the  most  serious  errors  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher  lies  at  this  very  point,  dictating  instead  of  suggesting, 
choosing  for  the  pupil  instead  of  allowing  him  to  choose,  thinking 
for  him  instead  of  stimulating  every  power  of  his  soul  to  rise  to 
a  personal  solution  of  the  problem  in  hand.  If  strength  and 
independence  of  character  do  not  come  in  these  years  of  adjust- 
ment, the  probabilities  are  that  life  will  always  be  weak  and 
vacillating. 

(3)  The  opportunity  to  strengthen  the  altruistic  feeling  or  "love 
for  the  other" — In  the  broadening  and  deepening  experience  of 
adolescence  such  conceptions  as  love,  suffering,  sacrifice,  and 
surrender  reveal  a  new  meaning  and  strange  force  of  attraction. 
No  opportunity  comparable  to  the  one  presented  in  this 
awakening  ever  returns,  as  the  soul,  with  life  before  it,  stands 
at  the  divergence  of  the  paths,  one  leading  toward  God  and 
service,  the  other  away  from  him  into  self,  and  deliberate,  decisive 
choice  to  be  made. 

If  through  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  pathway  of 
service  be  chosen,  two  laws  of  God  tend  to  make  it  permanent; 
(a)  The  law  of  growth  and  development.  If  the  feelings  have 
proper  nourishment,  i.  e.,  something  to  arouse  them,  and  are 
given  expression  in  action,  they  will  just  as  surely  grow  strong 
as  a  well -nourished,  vigorous  body,  and  obviously,  the  stronger 
the  feelings  of  loving  interest,  the  more  assured  is  the  life  of  ser- 
vice, (b)  The  law  of  habit.  A  feeling  will  become  habitual  if 
continually  indulged  and  expressed,  and  it  is  during  adolescence 
that   habits  are  permanently   fixed. 

27.  Needs  of  the  Intermediate  Age. — The  needs  of  this  period 
are  of  two  sorts — important  and  imperative.  It  is  exceedingly 
important  that  the  pupil  be  treated  with  consideration,  respect, 
and  appreciation,  that  he  be  given  good  literature,  that  he  be 
guarded  and  guided  in  his  social  life.  It  is  imperative,  however, 
that  he  be  established  in  the  right  relation  to  God  and  to  his 
neighbor  at  this  time  of  new  consciousness  of  these  relationships. 
Four  things  will  definitely  further  this  supreme  end: 

(i)  The  teacher  with  the  vision  of  what  may  he  done.  If  he  is 
not  disobedient  to  the  vision,  it  will  lead  him  to  close  fellowship 


Lesson  8  169 

with  God  and  the  pupil,  for  two  things  are  evident, — he  cannot 
lead  the  pupil  unless  he  is  in  sympathetic  touch  with  him,  nor 
can  he  lead  him  to  any  higher  place  than  he  himself  occupies. 
If  he  be  in  vital  relation  with  God  and  live  with  the  pupH  in  his 
ambitions,  discouragements,  successes,  temptations,  the  most 
dynamic  external  force  that  can  operate  in  this  period  will  be 
his  to  wield,  namely,  a  spiritual  personal  influence. 

(2)  Definite  decisions.  The  danger-point  in  this  crisis  lies 
in  permitting  these  newly  awakened  feelings  to  be  dissipated 
without  decision  and  action.  If  this  occurs  they  weaken,  the 
impulse  to  take  the  right  stand  lessens,  and  irresolution  finally 
becomes  the  tacit  choice  of  the  self-seeking  life. 

(3)  Definite  responsibilities.  A  life  of  service  is  made  up  of 
definite  servings.  The  beauty  and  duty  of  loving  sacrifice  appeal 
to  the  emotions,  but  a  concrete  thing  to  be  done  calls  the  will 
info  action.  To  every  pupil  should  be  given  definite  tasks  both 
in  the  class  itself  and  in  the  church,  in  order  to  arouse  effort  and 
make  the  thought  of  service  habitual. 

(4)  Definite  objects  of  benevolence.  The  teachers  of  the  Inter- 
mediate age  can  almost  determine  when  the  world  shall  be  given 
to  Jesus  Christ.  At  no  time  can  a  permanent  interest  in  mis- 
sionary enterprises  and  philanthropies  at  home  be  so  easily 
launched  as  now  if  the  subjects  considered  be  concrete,  enthu- 
siastically presented  on  a  basis  of  facts,  and  followed  by  definite 
response  in  gift,  prayer,  or  service. 

28.  Difficulties  in  the  Intermediate  Age. 
(i)  Lack  of  mental   balance   and   consequent   instability  of 
conduct. 

(2)  The  fascination  of  the  social  world  and  the  growing  interest 
of  each  sex  in  the  other. 

(3)  The  half-way  position  between  childhood  and  maturity 
which  retains  the  immaturity  of  childhood,  but  feels  the  selfhood 
of  the  man. 

(4)  The  attraction  of  the  external  rather  than  of  intrinsic 
worth.  This  is  the  crux  of  many  of  the  problems.  What 
appears  to  advantage  allures,  even  if  it  be  not  the  best.  This 
gives  superficial  standards  of  measuring  people  and  things  and 
easily  opens  the  way  to  harmful  influences  at  the  critical  time 


I70  The  Pupil 

when  ideals  and  life  purposes  are  forming.  The  teacher  himself 
is  the  most  important  factor  in  the  solution  of  these  problems., 
not  by  any  attempt  to  force,  but  by  a  patient,  suggestive,  and 
inspiring  touch  upon  the  pupil's  life. 

29.  Results  to  be  Expected. — The  pupil  ought  to  leave  this 
period  in  the  right  attitude  toward  God  and  toward  his  neighbor. 
To  render  this  attitude  strong  and  unchangeable  is  the  work  of 
the  next  period. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  a  keyword  for  the  opportunities  of  the   Inter- 
mediate Age?     Explain  its  application. 

2.  Name  three  important  opportunities  of  this  age. 

3.  What  serious  error  may  the  teacher  commit  in  this  period 
in  impairing  the  pupil's  self-reliance?  » 

4.  Name  four  needs  of  the  Intermediate  age. 

5.  What  is  the  danger-point  in  bringing  a  pupil  to  definite 
decisions? 

6.  What  great  responsibility  as  to  benevolences  rests  upon 
the  teacher? 

7.  Name  four  difficulties  of  the  Intermediate  Age. 

8.  What  results  may  be  expected? 


Lesson  9 

The  Senior  Age— Sixteen  to  Maturity 

30.  General  Characteristics  of  the  Senior  Age. — The  Senior 
age  includes  the  two  periods  technically  known  as  middle  adoles- 
cence, from  about  sixteen  to  eighteen,  and  later  adolescence, 
from  eighteen  to  full  maturity,  about  twenty-four.  Of  these, 
the  earlier  period  is  the  climax  of  the  "tempest-tossed"  years. 
The  later  period  witnesses  the  final  adjustment  of  the  pupil  to 
life  and  its  problems.  These  years  are  marked  by  uncertainty 
because '  the  pupil  does  not  understand  himself,  by  emotional 
upheaval  connected  with  the  development  of  the  deeper  feelings 
of  the  soul,  and  by  a  struggle  between  the  old  ideal  of  selfishness 
and  the  new  ideal  of  service. 

31.  Special  Characteristics  of  the  Senior  Age. 

(i)  Continued  development  of  the  higher  feelings.  The  power 
of  the  soul  to  feel  for  others,  appearing  in  the  Intermediate  age, 
has  grown  stronger  if  properly  nurtured.  In  addition  there 
comes  a  new  love  for  the  beauties  of  Nature  and  a  reverence  for 
her  laws,  a  love  of  the  arts  and  the  great  causes  that  men  espouse. 
There  is  the  thrill  of  awakening  love  between  man  and  woman. 
Highest  of  all,  the  soul  is  now  able  to  give  response  to  the  right 
simply  because  it  is  the  right.  Duty  has  real  meaning  and  con- 
viction becomes  a  motive  power. 

As  the  large  vision  of  what  life  may  be  dawns  upon  the  soul, 
unbounded  enthusiasm  and  courage  possess  it.  There  are  no 
heights  too  dizzy  to  be  reached,  no  obstacles  too  difficult  to  over- 
come. But  enthusiasm  often  alternates  with  depression  and 
self-distrust,  leading  to  indifterence,  apathy,  or  recklessness. 
This  is  the  explanation  of  the  vacillating  conduct  almost  universal 
during  the  early  part  of  this  period. 

A  critical  spirit  toward  others  is  common,  as  merciless  scrutiny 
reveals  how  far  the  majority  come  from  the  high  standards  of 
life  so  newly  appreciated.  The  frank  openness  of  childhood  has 
been  succeeded  by  a  tendency  to  shut  the  deeper  thoughts  and 
feelings  away  from  others,  and  while  there  is  an  unspeakable 

171 


172  The  Pupil 


longing  to  share  problems  and  perplexities,  the  veil  is  not  easily 
drawn  aside. 

(2)  The  rapid  development  of  the  reasoning  power  of  the  mind 
This  crowning  expression  of  the  intellectual  power  of  the  mind 
has  not  been  wanting  before,  but  it  comes  to  full  flower  in  this 
period.  In  the  first  delight  of  being  able  to  see  inner  relation- 
ships, to  argue,  to  relate  cause  and  effect,  reason  is  given  the 
place  of  honor  and  everything  must  pass  in  review  before  it. 
This  very  often  precipitates  a  conflict  between  reason  and  faith 
through  failure  to  see  that  a  thing  is  not  necessarily  opposed  to 
reason  even  if  it  cannot  be  understood  by  reason;  and  a  period 
of  doubt  in  religious  matters  may  ensue, 

(3)  Maturing  of  the  will  power.  This  makes  possible  self- 
control,  gives  power  to  act  independent  of  the  impulse  and 
influence  which  always  determines  a  child's  actions,  power  to 
hold  steadily  to  a  certain  course  even  against  strong  opposition. 
This  is  the  kingly  possession  of  the  soul  with  which  Almighty 
God  has  chosen  to  leave  freedom.  But  the  soul  tends  to  act  as 
it  has  formed  the  habit  of  acting  through  the  years  under  the 
direction  of  others.  In  the  light  of  this  fact,  the  importance  of 
the  earlier  work  of  the  teacher  is  emphasized. 

32.  Opportunities  of  the  Senior  Age. — The  opportunities 
discussed  in  the  Intermediate  age  still  obtain  in  this  period,  but 
to  them  may  be  added  three  peculiarly  favorable  at  this  time, 

(i)  The  opportunity  to  give  help  in  choice  of  life  -vocation. 
The  choice  of  that  place  where  each  shall  invest  his  life  is  one  of 
the  most  serious  and  complex  problems  that  the  pupil  has  to  meet. 
Loving  and  sympathetic  counsel  often  stimulates  a  young  man 
or  woman  to  aspire  in  the  choice  instead  of  settling  down  into 
easy  mediocrity.  The  call  of  the  ministry,  the  mission  field, 
settlement  work,  every  vocation  involving  the  setting  aside  of 
selfish  ambitions,  is  most  loudly  heard  at  this  time,  and  often  a 
word  is  sufficient  to  turn  the  decision  in  that  direction. 

(2)  To  strengthen  foundations  of  faith.  The  questioning  of 
this  period  makes  it  possible  to  ground  belief  in  the  verities  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Faith  need  not  be  blind.  God  gives  a 
reasonable  basis  for  all  he  asks  us  to  accept.  The  careful  study 
of  facts  which  are  the  starting-point  of  faith  will  help  the  doubting 


Lesson  9  173 

soul  to  trust  beyond  the  point  of  sight,  and  enable  him  to  give 
a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him, 

(3)  To  establish  broad  interests.  If  the  pupil  is  narrow  and 
circumscribed  in  his  thought  at  this  time,  the  fault  lies  in  large 
measure  at  the  teacher's  door,  for  every  impulse  is  to  stretch 
in  interest  to  the  farthest  limit  in  every  direction.  There  will 
never  again  be  such  an  opportunity  to  establish  the  world-wide 
interests  begun  in  the  Intermediate  age,  for  life  settles  in  a  groove 
in  adulthood  and  new  interests  do  not  readily  appeal. 

33.  Needs  of  the  Senior  Age. 

(i)  The  influence  of  lives  that  will  bear  the  test.  In  this  doubt- 
ing, critical  period  of  life,  the  daily  life  of  others  is  the  unanswer- 
able argument  for  or  against  the  power  of  the  gospel.  If  for  no 
other  reason  than  to  establish  the  faith  of  her  young  people,  the 
church  ought  to  walk  in  white.     • 

(2)  Sympathy  and  confidence  toward  the  pupil.  Some  one  has 
said  that  the  word  "hunger"  will  express  the  period  of  adoles- 
cence, and  for  nothing  is  the  pupil  so  hungry  as  to  be  understood, 
appreciated,  and  trusted.  The  teacher  is  privileged  to  live  into 
the  life  of  the  pupil  at  every  point,  and  be  the  sympathetic  friend 
who  shall  help  him  to  work  out  his  high  calling  in  Christ  Jesus. 

34.  Difficulties  of  the  Senior  Age. — The  very  things  that 
constitute  the  strength  of  this  period  present  many  of  its  diffi- 
culties. The  greater  mental  power  coming  with  increased  reason 
and  will  is  apt  to  give  rise  to  self-sufficiency  and  the  doubt 
already  mentioned.  Opinions  are  readily  and  dogmatically 
launched,  and  to  reverse  them  wounds  pride.  Advice  may  be 
secretly  welcomed  and  outwardly  scorned.  This  is  the  period 
when  there  is  danger  that  wisdom  may  perish  if  the  youth  meet 
an  untimely  end.  But  far  more  dangerous  is  the  tendency 
toward  the  sowing  of  wild  oats  which  is  so  often  evident.  A 
certain  recklessness  easily  grows  out  of  the  disturbed  emotional 
nature  and  excesses  lie  not  far  beyond.  For  all  of  these  difficul- 
ties, faith  and  prayer,  an  attitude  of  helpfulness  at  every  point, 
and  the  love  that  never  fails,  afford  the  only  solution. 

35.  Results  to  be  Expected. — As  the  pupil  emerges  from  the 
period  of  development  into  maturity,  he  ought  to  be  "strong  in 
the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  with  interest  and  love  as  broad 


174  The  Pupil 

as  that  of  his  Master,  and  "thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good 
work." 

Test  Questions 

I    What  are  the  general  characteristics  of  the  Senior  Age? 
The  years  included? 

2.  Name  three  special  characteristics. 

3.  How  would  you  explain  vacillating  conduct  during  the 
early  part  of  this  period? 

4.  Name  three  opportunities  of  the  Senior  Age. 

5.  How  may  doubters  be  helped  in  this  period? 

6.  What  are  two  special  needs  of  this  period? 

7.  The  chief  difficulties? 

8.  What  the  results  to  be  expected? 


Lesson  lo 

Maturity 

The  limited  space  of  a  single  chapter  permits  only  a  suggestive 
discussion  of  this  important  period,  so  often  neglected  in  the 
study  of  the  pupil. 

36.  General  Survey. — (i)  Keyword,  "Service."  As  child- 
hood's task  is  absorption,  and  the  task  of  youth  adjustment, 
so  the  task  of  maturity  is  service.  That  which  has  been  taken 
in  must  be  given  out  again,  enriched  and  enlarged  by  its  stay  in 
the  soul.  This  is  "the  last  of  life  for  which  the  first  was  made," 
and  to  fail  here  means  to  miss  the  meaning  of  life. 

All  the  factors  necessary  for  service  are  now  ready.  Exper- 
ience and  study  have  supplied  something  to  give,  mental  dis- 
cipline and  unimpaired  physical  strength  supply  the  power  for 
service,  the  broad  outlook  reveals  the  need  and  place  of  service, 
and  the  soul's  awakening  toward  God  and  the  neighbor  have 
supplied  the  motives  for  service. 

(2)  Physical  and  mental  power  at  the  height.  Waste  and  repair 
in  bodily  tissues  are  balanced  during  the  prime  of  life.  If 
development  has  been  normal,  the  will  is  resolute,  and  judgment 
and  reason  are  dominating  and  wise,  for  experience  has  given 
large  data  from  which  to  draw  conclusions.  While  the  "Golden 
Age  of  Memory"  is  far  in  the  past,  the  power  of  retaining  new 
knowledge  through  the  old  is  strong.  To  enter  upon  unfamiliar 
lines  of  thought,  however,  at  this  time  and  achieve  any  mastery 
is  a  mark  of  genius  at  least  for  hard  work.  The  soul  has  capacity 
now  for  the  highest  feelings  that  can  stir  the  heart  of  man,  yet 
the  character  of  those  it  really  experiences  is  determined  by  what 
life  has  been  feeding  upon.  The  love,  joy,  and  peace  which  give 
glory  to  maturity  and  old  age  grow  alone  out  of  thought  upon 
true  and  pure  and  lovely  things  and  those  of  good  report. 

(3)  Development  specialized,  not  general.  Out  of  the  many 
calls  and  lines  of  interest,  each  life  has  made  choice  of  one  or  more, 
according  to  taste  and  circumstances.  Along  these  lines  growth 
and  development  proceed.     It  is  not  that  life  could  not  continue 

175 


176  The  Pupil 

the  many-sided  expansion  of  adolescence,  but  growth  demands 
nourishment,  development  demands  activity.  The  need  for 
the  expert,  the  multiplicity  of  cares  and  the  force  of  habit  make 
it  difficult  to  "keep  up"  along  many  avenues. 

(4)  Time  of  achievement.  Achievement  may  or  may  not  be  that 
service  which  manhood  owes.  The  purpose  in  the  task  determines 
that.  To  souls  especially  endowed  and  favorably  environed  come 
the  riches  of  intellectual  research,  of  creation  in  the  arts,  of  suc- 
cesses in  the  business  world.  To  the  many,  achievement  means 
only  struggle  here,  but  waiting  treasures  laid  up  with  God. 

(5)  Time  of  soul  hunger.  The  teacher  of  men  and  women 
always  faces  hungry  hearts.  If  the  soul  has  not  found  satis- 
faction in  God,  the  pangs  of  starvation  are  inevitably  there.  If 
the  soul  does  know  God,  there  is  unspeakable  longing  for  a 
clearer  revelation  and  a  deeper  consciousness  that  in  the  midst 
of  life's  weakness  and  aspiring 

"God's  goodness  flows   around   our   incompleteness, 
Round  our  restlessness  His  rest." 

37.  Opportunities  Presented  in  Maturity. — But  three  great 
opportunities  out  of  the  many  can  be  suggested : 

(i)  The  opportunity  to  he  somebody s  ideal.  Every  successful 
life  is  the  pattern  for  some  eager,  ambitious  boy  or  girl.  Did 
not  Paul's  exhortation  to  Timothy  look  toward  this  as  well, 
when  he  besought  him  to  "be  an  ensample  in  word,  in  manner 
of  life,  in  love,  in  faith,  in  purity"? 

(2)  The  opportunity  to  count  for  the  kingdom.  There  are  two 
lines  of  Christian  work  which  call  loudly  to-day  to  men  and 
women — personal  evangelism  and  the  missionary  enterprise. 
These  are  the  doors  most  imperative  for  the  soul  in  possession 
of  power,  experience,  and  resources  to  enter.  Beyond  these 
doors  lies  the  solution  of  every  one  of  the  world's  problems. 

(3)  The  opportunity  to  grasp  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  The 
relation  of  truth  to  truth  cannot  come  until  the  mind  can  deal 
with  the  abstract.  The  little  child  grasps  some  of  the  facts  of 
Christianity,  but  the  adult  mind  has  the  power  to  deal  with 
infinite  reaches  of  truth,  interdependent  and  self-illuminating. 
This  is  the  "solid  food  for  full-grown  men." 

38,  Needs  of  Maturity. — (i)   Adequate  spiritual  nourishment. 


Lesson  lo  177 

The  time  of  disillusionment  has  come,  much  of  the  optimism 
and  buoyancy  of  youth  have  gone.  Life  is  found  to  be  a  struggle 
even  with  its  victories,  and  responsibilities  and  sorrows  weigh. 
The  teaching  must  present  a  Saviour  and  a  salvation  sufficient 
for  great  heart  needs.  It  is  for  the  deep  things  of  God  that  life's 
experiences  have  made  mature  souls  hungry,  and  there  is  pathos 
in  the  superficial  dole  meted  out  by  so  many  teachers — super- 
ficial because  they  themselves  have  never  lived  "down  deep." 

(2)  The  broad  outlook.  To  busy  men  and  burdened  women, 
the  class  ought  to  be  a  place  of  vision.  Absorbed  in  one's  tiny 
corner  through  six  toiling  days,  the  seventh  should  give  oppor- 
tunity to  lift  up  the  eyes  and  look  on  fields  glorious  in  their 
incoming  harvest.  There  is  refreshment  and  inspiration  and 
incentive  now  in  the  news  from  China  and  Japan  and  the  islands 
of  the  sea.  The  teacher  must  bring  the  world-view  to  the  class 
if  he  believes  that  world  service  is  God's  thought  for  manhood. 

(3)  Emphasis  on  personal  responsibility.  This  is  the  pivotal 
point  upon  which  a  life  of  service  turns,  and  it  ought  to  be  the 
focal  point  of  teaching.  Long  enough  has  stress  been  laid  on 
the  conditions  in  the  world  and  what  ought  to  be  done.  The 
need  now  is  for  a  prophet  to  say,  "Thou  art  the  man!" 

39.  Difficulties. 

(i)  Pre-occupied  soil.  "The  cares  of  the  world  and  the 
deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the  word  and  it  becomes  unfruitful." 

(2)  Fixedness  of  habit.  Life's  attitude  is  settled  in  thought, 
feeling,  and  will,  and  a  change  is  possible  only  through  the 
Spirit  who  can  make  all  things  new. 

(3)  The  sin  of  idolatry.  Every  life  that  has  not  put  God  first 
now  worships  at  the  shrine  of  a  self-elevated  idol,  the  tangible 
expression  of  its  ideal.  To  dethrone  it  from  love  and  substitute 
Jesus  Christ  shakes  to  the  foundations. 

(4)  Weakness  of  spiritual  aspirations.  It  is  a  law  of  the 
feelings  that  repression  instead  of  expression  weakens  a  feeling 
and  tends  to  its  destruction.  If  the  life  has  refused  to  act  upon 
its  impulses  toward  God  through  the  years,  the  task  of  making 
the  feeling  strong  enough  to  lead  into  action  now  is  one  beyond 
the  power  of  the  teacher.  It  must  be  done  by  God,  who  "is 
able  to  raise  up  even  from  the  dead." 

13 


178  The  Pupil 

40.  Results  to  be  Expected. — As  life  nears  its  meridian 
and  the  west  grows  clearer,  it  ought  to  be  with  unveiled  face 
and  character  changing  into  His  likeness  in  beauty,  love,  and 
self-surrendered  service. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  keyword  of  maturity? 

2.  Name  four  characteristics. 

3.  For  what  has  the  soul  special  capacity  at  this  time? 

4.  What  special  opportunities  are  presented  by  maturity? 

5.  What  are  three  needs  of  maturity? 

6.  What  must  definitely  mark  the  teaching? 

7.  What  three  difficulties  appear? 

8.  What  results  are  to  be  expected? 

Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  6  to  10 

1.  What  essentials  of  the  Christian  life  may  a  Junior  readily 
have? 

2.  How  may  we  stimulate  a  Junior's  efforts  in  right-doing? 

3.  What  results  may  we  look  for  in  this  age? 

4.  Explain  the  period  of  adolescence. 

5.  What  are  the  signs  of  personal  consciousness  at  this  time? 

6.  What  affects  the  adolescent's  relation  to  God? 

7.  What  important  opportunities  has  the  Intermediate  age? 

8.  What  must  be  guarded  against  in  urging  decision  at  this 
time? 

9.  What  years  are  included  in  the  Senior  age? 

10.  Why  are  doubts  to  be  expected  in  this  age? 

11.  What  results  should  be  aimed  at  with  Seniors? 

12.  What  is  meant  by  "maturity"? 

13.  What  is  the  goal  for  this  age? 

Note. — A  helpful  treatment  of  the  whole  subject  of  child 
nature  is  found  in  Mrs.  Lamoreaux's  book  "The  Unfolding 
Life." 


THE  TEACHER 

MARTIN  G.  BRUMBAUGH,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Lesson  .  Page 

1.  What  the  Teacher  Should  Be i8i 

2.  What  the  Teacher  Should  Know 184 

3.  What  the  Teacher  Should  Do 187 

4.  What  the  Pupil  Should  Do 190 

5.  What  Teaching  Is 193 

6.  What  an  Educational  Principle  Is 197 

7.  What  an  Educational  Method  Is 200 

8.  What  the  Concrete  Means  in  Teaching 204 

9.  What  Instruction,  Drill,  and  Examination  Can  Do 207 

10.  What  Will-Training  Leads  To 210 


Teaching  Hints 

Leaders  of  classes,  and  individuals 
pursuing  tliese  studies  apart  from 
classes,  are  urged  to  read  the  chap- 
ter entitled  "Teaching  Hints,"  on 
page  257,  before  beginning  this  section 


Lesson  i 
What  the  Teacher  Should  Be 

1.  The  Value  of  Character. — We  teach  more  by  what  we 
are  than  by  what  we  know,  Emerson  once  said,  "What  you  are 
thunders  so  loud  I  cannot  hear  what  you  say."  Everywhere  the 
character  of  the  teacher  is  counted  a  vital  part  of  his  equipment. 
Even  in  secular  schools  the  teacher  is  required  to  possess  a  good 
moral  character.  How  much  more  should  we  demand  high 
moral  and  spiritual  standards  of  the  teacher  in  the  Sunday- 
school  !  But  mere  goodness  is  not  enough.  We  must  demand, 
in  addition  to  personal  worth,  certain  other  salient  qualities  in  the 
person  who  stands  before  childhood  as  a  teacher  of  God's  truth. 

2.  Training  Always  Needed. — There  is  a  common  notion 
that  teachers  like  poets  are  born,  not  made.  This  is  fallacious 
for  two  reasons:  (a)  we  do  not  know  till  we  try  whether  or  not 
we  can  teach;  (b)  we  do  know  now  that  the  greater  number  of 
teachers  are  made  by  training  and  not  by  inherited  qualities. 
Then,  too,  we  are  told  that  born  teachers  need  no  training,  that 
they  can  teach  without  preparation.  This  notion  is  false, 
because  the  best  native  power  may  be  made  better  by  proper 
training.  We  call  a  doctor  who  has  had  no  training  in  medicine 
a  "quack,"  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  the  same  of  untrained 
teachers.  Hence  all  of  us  will  be  the  better  fitted  for  our  work 
in  the  Sunday-school  if  we  have  in  addition  to  our  native  powers 
such  added  power  as  prayer  and  training  assuredly  give. 

3.  A  Living  Example. — The  teacher  should  be  not  only  a 
professing  Christian,  but  a  living  example  of  the  kind  of  life  we 
want  every  child  to  live.  It  is  unfortunate  to  place  the  destiny 
of  a  human  soul  in  the  care  and  under  the  directing  thought  of 
a  teacher  who  neither  believes  nor  lives  a  consistent  Christian 
life.  The  teacher  should  be  kindly  considerate  of  his  pupils 
No  amount  of  fine  teaching  power  can  compensate  for  the  lack 
of  such  kindly  concern  for  the  welfare  of  his  pupils  as  will  best 
lead  them  to  crave  in  their  own  lives  the  same  courteous  and 
considerate  qualities.     He  should  also  be  perfectly  sincere  and 

i8i 


i82  The  Teacher 

frank.  There  can  be  no  such  thing  as  "playing  a  part"  in  the 
presence  of  children.  They  discern  with  an  intuition  that  is 
as  certain  as  logic  the  sincerity  or  insincerity  of  the  teacher. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  flatter,  to  scold,  to  threaten  or  to  cajole  pupils. 
These  are  the  marks  of  poor  teaching.  A  perfectly  frank  teacher 
will  never  cheapen  his  sacred  opportunity  by  any  trick  or  device 
that  has  the  ring  of  insincerity. 

4.  Enthusiasm. — The  teacher  should  be  an  enthusiast.  I 
had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks  speak  to  a 
great  body  of  men  in  Boston.  There  was  in  his  whole  manner 
such  sincerity  and  enthusiasm  as  to  carry  conviction  to  each  one 
in  his  audience.  He  had  a  good  thing.  He  believed  in  it  with 
his  whole  heart.  He  was  enthusiastic  in  its  praise.  He  had 
tested  it  and  found  it  good.  He  wanted  others  to  share  the  same 
splendid  good.  His  address  left  an  impression  that  years  cannot 
dim.  His  enthusiasm  made  him  a  great  teacher.  This  does 
not  mean  that  one  should  speak  in  a  loud  tone,  in  high-pitched 
voice,  with  vehement  manner  and  gesture.  These  are  marks 
of  weakness,  not  of  strength.  But  it  does  mean  that  one  should 
be  confident  of  the  worth  of  his  message  and  anxious  to  impress 
its  worth  upon  others.  Enthusiasm  is  born  of  sincere  conviction 
in  the  correctness  of  the  thing  one  aims  to  teach. 

5.  Directness. — Much  of  all  that  is  best  in  teaching  is  the 
result  of  a  mastery  of  the  theme  in  such  way  as  to  make  all  the 
statements  and  questions  of  the  teacher  clear  and  direct.  One 
must  consider  his  language  carefully.  To  the  child  in  the  class 
words  may  mean  quite  a  different  thing  from  what  they  mean 
to  the  teacher.  One  must  have  the  pupUs'  point  of  view,  and 
then  make  all  his  teaching  so  pointed,  so  specific,  that  the 
meaning  must  be  clear. 

6.  Alert  Insight. — The  teacher  must  be  alert  and  aggressive, 
discerning  the  favorable  moment  to  say  great  truths;  with  his 
thoughts  more  upon  his  pupils  than  upon  his  text.  Other- 
wise his  power  to  govern  is  weakened  and  the  interest  of  his 
pupils  is  lessened  if  not  wholly  lost.  To  accomplish  the  best 
things  one  must  know  in  advance  the  scope  and  purpose  of  the 
lesson,  and  watch  for  the  moment  when,  with  interest  at  its 
height,  he  will  best  succeed  in  reaching  the  deepest  fountains  of 


Lesson  i  183 

purpose  in  the  soul  of  the  pupil.  This  quality  of  insight  in  the 
teacher's  equipment  will  put  the  class  upon  a  basis  of  work. 
The  pupils  will  quickly  realize  that  the  teacher  is  imbued  with  a 
purpose;  that  he  proceeds  in  a  business-like  way  to  accomplish  a 
result  which  is  seen  to  be  of  value.  The  very  directness  of  the 
teacher  is  an  asset  of  great  significance.  This  always  appeals  to 
young  persons.  They  like  a  lesson  that  is  full  of  snap  and  action. 
They  will  not  long  abide  a  dull  and  dreary  dragging  over  a  sub- 
ject— be  it  ever  so  fruitful  in  guidance. 

7.  Love. — The  teacher  must  be  a  sincere  lover  of  childhood 
and  of  the  Master.  In  the  final  chapter  of  the  great  Gospel  by 
John,  Jesus  examines  Peter  and  indicates  the  basis  of  great 
teaching  power.  It  is  well  to  study  this  narrative  carefully. 
Picture  Peter,  at  the  dawn,  weary  and  disheartened,  coming 
from  his  Ashless  quest.  The  Master  meets  him  and  asks  him 
but  one  question,  but  he  asks  that  question  three  times,  and 
each  time  he  follows  Peter's  reply  with  the  command  "Feed." 
The  lesson  is  plain — he  that  loves  most  feeds  best,  and  the 
measure  of  one's  power  to  teach  the  truth  of  God  to  his  children 
is  the  measure  of  one's  love  for  the  Master  Teacher.  Where 
there  is  no  love  there  can  be  no  great  teaching. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What    should   be    counted  a  vital  part  of  the  teacher's 
equipment? 

2.  Is  it  true  that  teachers  are  "born,"  not  "made"?     Give 
two  reasons  for  your  answer. 

3.  Name  two  ways  in  which  a  teacher  can  be  a  living  example. 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  evidences  of  a  teacher's  enthusiasm? 

5.  Whose  point  of  view  must  the  teacher  take? 

6.  What  manner  and  method  in  teaching  do  pupils  like? 

7.  What  is  the  measure  of  one's  power  to  teach  the  truth  of 
God  to  His  children? 


Lesson  2 

What  the  Teacher  Should  Know 

8.  He  Must  Have,  before  He  Can  Give. — We  can  give  only 
what  we  possess.  This  law  holds  throughout.  Peter  understood 
this  when  he  made  the  memorable  reply  to  the  beggar's  request 
for  alms:  "Silver  and  gold  have  I  none;  but  such  as  I  have  give 
I  thee."  It  follows  that  whatever  we  wish  the  pupU  to  know 
the  teacher  should  also  know,  and  he  should  know  more  than  he 
can  hope  to  teach. 

9.  He  Should  Know  His  Bible. — What  do  we  wish  the 
pupil  to  learn?  Answering  this  will  answer  in  part  the  ques- 
tion, What  should  the  teacher  know?  Manifestly,  then,  the 
teacher  should  be  familiar  with  the  Bible.  How  very  frag- 
mentary and  unsatisfactory  our  knowledge  of  the  great  Book 
is  until  we  have  studied  it  in  a  definite  and  systematic  way — 
in  the  way  we  study  our  history  or  our  geography.  The  teacher 
should  at  least  know  the  salient  features  of  the  incomparable 
Text  and  should  have  well  fixed  in  memory  many  of  the  great 
utterances  that  lie  like  flecks  of  gold  upon  its  sunny  pages. 

10.  Clear  and  Related  Knowledge. — But  the  teacher  should 
know  in  a  more  connected  and  also  in  a  more  detailed  way 
the  truths  of  the  Book.  The  pupil's  knowledge  should  be 
clear,  by  which  one  means  that  he  should  know  a  thing  and 
not  some  other  thing  in  its  stead;  and  a  teacher's  knowledge 
should  be  not  only  clear  but  related,  by  which  one  means  that 
he  should  know  a  thing  in  its  relation  to  all  other  things  with 
which  it  is  vitally  connected.  This  makes  for  system  in  knowl- 
edge, and  gives  the  teacher  the  power  to  teach  each  fact  with 
its  due  emphasis,  no  more  and  no  less.  Some  writers  on  educa- 
tion call  this  kind  of  knowing  apperception,  by  which  they  mean 
seeing  a  thing  in  its  proper  system  and  in  its  due  relations.  To 
say  that  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  that  he  lived  in  Nazareth, 
that  he  was  crucified  on  Calvary,  and  that  he  arose  from  the  dead 
on  the  third  day,  as  he  said  he  would,  is  clear  knowledge.  To  see 
Jesus  as  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  as  the  promised  King,  as  the 

184 


Lesson  2  185 

leader  of  his  people,  as  a  teacher  with  more  than  human  insight, 
as  the  founder  of  a  church,  and  as  the  pattern  and  perfection  of  all 
endeavor,  is  related  knowledge;  it  is  seeing  Jesus  as  part  of  a  great 
system  of  purpose  that  swept  into  time  by  the  will  of  God. 

11.  It  is  well  also  for  the  teacher  to  possess  adequate  knowl- 
edge; he  should  be  able  to  separate  a  fact  into  its  parts;  that 
is,  analyze  it.  This  analytic  power  makes  for  vivid  teaching 
but  it  is  a  power  that  the  pupil  in  his  early  years  cannot  acquire. 
Only  the  mature  mind  is  analytic,  and  the  teacher  who  knows 
how  to  analyze  a  fact  or  a  lesson  knows  the  secret  of  proportion 
in  teaching,  the  power  to  know  what  to  make  emphatic,  what 
to  make  subordinate.  It  is  a  poor  teacher  who  is  unable  to 
distinguish  between  a  vital  element  and  a  non-vital  element. 

12.  Related  Subjects. — The  teacher  should  also  know 
such  related  subjects  as  will  best  enable  him  to  make  clear  each 
point  under  treatment  in  the  lesson.  A  teacher  should  have  a 
working  knowledge  of  biblical  geography  and  of  sacred  anti- 
quities. He  should  know  how  to  use  a  concordance,  how  to 
work  up  cross-references,  how  to  interpret  peculiar  idioms,  and 
in  general  how  to  use  the  text  of  the  Bible  in  the  most  effective 
manner.  He  should  know  the  general  principles  of  organization 
pursued  in  a  modern  Sunday-school,  together  with  the  outlines 
of  the  history  of  the  church,  and  should  have  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  translations  of  the  Bible  into  the  English  language. 

13.  Thinking  Principles. — In  addition  to  the  subject-matter, 
the  teacher  should  know  something  of  the  laws  of  thought,  and 
the  best  way  to  use  knowledge  as  an  agency  in  forming  these 
laws  of  thought.  All  these  laws  are  scheduled  in  any  ele- 
mentary treatise  on  psychology,  and  the  best  method  of  using 
knowledge  to  train  the  soul  is  set  forth  in  any  good  treatise  on 
pedagogy.  Thus  to  a  knowledge  of  the  subject-matter  the 
teacher  must  add  a  knowledge  of  psychology  and  of  pedagogy. 
Scholarship   alone  is  not   the  test    of   a    good  teacher. 

14.  If  one  reflects  for  a  time  upon  his  own  methods  of 
acquiring  knowledge,  he  will  begin  to  understand  the  opera- 
tions of  the  human  soul.  When  one  reads  that  knowledge 
enters  the  soul  only  through  the  special  senses,  or  that 
ideas  may  be  recalled  by  memory,  it  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 


i86  The  Teacher 

tance  that  he  should  ask  himself  the  question:  What  do  these 
statements  mean?  An  illustration  will  help  to  answer  this 
question:  I  know  that  fire  will  burn  my  hand;  the  knowledge 
of  this  fact  entered  my  consciousness  through  the  sense  of 
touch,  and  my  memory  recalls  it. 

15.  Teaching  Principles. — When  the  laws  of  soul  growth 
are  fairly  well  understood,  it  is  time  to  investigate  the  principles 
of  pedagogy,  the  laws  that  govern  the  teacher  in  the  act  of 
using  knowledge  to  occasion  activity  in  the  soul  of  a  learner. 
For  the  laws  of  teaching  rest  upon  the  laws  of  the  soul.  We 
cannot  know  how  to  proceed  in  the  teaching  process  until  we 
know  how  the  soul  acts  under  given  conditions. 

16.  This  act  of  teaching  is  a  vastly  significant  one.  It  results 
in  changing  the  viewpoint  of  the  pupil's  life.  It  should  produce 
in  his  soul  new  knowledge,  or  power,  or  skill,  or  all  of  these 
combined.  Consider  well,  teacher,  what  this  means.  How 
the  child  is  taught  determines  in  no  small  way  how  he  will  in  the 
years  to  come  regard  his  fellow-man,  his  country,  his  church,  his 
own  duty,  and  his  loyalty  to  all  that  makes  for  progress  in  the 
life  that  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

17.  There  are  certain  educational  principles  of  great  value  to 
the  teacher.  Consider  what  it  means  to  adapt  knowledge  to 
the  capacity  of  the  learner,  or  what  it  means  to  secure  interest 
in  the  learner,  or  what  it  means  to  proceed  from  the  simple  to 
the  complex  in  teaching,  and  you  will  begin  to  understand 
something  of  the  power  of  right  activities  in  the  recitation. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  prerequisite  for  giving? 

2.  What  is  the  least  the  teacher  must  know  about  the  Bible? 

3.  In  what  way  should  the  teacher's  knowledge  of  the  Book 
be  superior  to  the  pupil's? 

4.  What  does  apperception  mean?     Illustrate  the  word. 

5.  Give  instances  of  the  kind  of  related  knowledge  that  the 
teacher  should  have. 

6.  By  what  means  does  knowledge  enter  the  soul  ? 

7.  What  should  the  act  of  teaching  produce  in  the  soul  of 
the  pupil? 


Lesson  3 
What  the  Teacher  Should  Do 

18.  The  teacher  must  have  a  purpose,  must  see  the  end  of  the 
teaching  process,  and  the  way  to  that  end.  Then  he  should 
endeavor  in  the  best  way  to  reach  that  goal.  The  goal  is  to 
achieve  in  the  pupil  the  highest  type  of  religious  conduct :  not 
a  religious  feeling  nor  a  religious  thought  system;  but  feeling 
and  thought  crystallized  into  character,  the  standard  coin  of 
the  soul.  All  the  efforts  of  the  teacher  must  be  directed  to  the 
attainment  of  this  purpose.  Otherwise  the  recitation  will  be 
aimless  and  the  result  failure. 

19.  The  teacher  must  have  a  plan  of  procedure  in  advance  of 
the  recitation.  This  plan  he  should  map  out  carefully,  and  then 
on  his  knees  ask  God  if  it  is  the  best  plan.  To  plan  carefully 
and  then  to  execute  skilfully  is  the  prime  test  of  teaching.  This 
plan  must  include  a  study  of  each  pupil  as  well  as  a  study  of 
each  lesson.  It  is  at  this  point  that  so  many  teachers  go  wrong. 
They  seem  to  think  that  a  knowledge  of  the  lesson  is  the  only 
preparation  required.  They  overlook  the  fact  that  it  is  vastly 
more  important  to  know  the  pupil  than  it  is  to  know  the  lesson. 
Those  that  know  the  subject-matter  only  are  scholars,  not 
teachers.  Those  that  add  to  their  knowledge  of  the  subject- 
matter  a  clear  insight  into  the  operations  of  their  pupils'  minds 
and  also  comprehend  the  fine  art  of  fitting  knowledge  to  the 
capacity  of  the  learner,  are  the  only  real  teachers. 

20.  The  teacher  must  be  ready  to  change  his  plan  if  it  does 
not  meet  the  conditions  that  arise  in  the  class;  but  this  is  a 
critical  procedure,  and  only  the  wise  teacher  may  follow  it  with 
success.  The  teacher  must  not  allow  pupils  to  lead  him  into 
by-paths.  Here  tact  and  skill  are  of  use  in  leading  the  class  to 
the  teacher's  will  and  to  the  teacher's  plan.  The  teacher's  will 
must  be  supreme  in  it  all.  I  have  seen  great  opportunities  lost 
absolutely  because  a  weak  teacher  allowed  the  lesson  to  drift 
at  the  caprice  of  a  pupil  instead  of  following  a  well-conceived  plan. 
A  group  of  boys  once  told  me  that  they  did  not  need  to  prepare 

187 


i88  The  Teacher 

the  Sunday-school  lesson  because  they  always  asked  the  teacher 
some  questions  at  the  opening  of  the  recitation,  and  the  teacher 
took  the  entire  time  to  discuss  the  questions.  The  pupils,  the 
while,  sat  in  their  places  smiling  at  the  weakness  of  a  teacher  who. 
lacked  the  discernment  necessary  to  be  master  of  the  situation. 
The  time  given  to  the  legitimate  work  of  instruction  is  all  too 
brief  to  be  wasted  in  any  such  senseless  ways. 

21.  The  teacher  must  be  alert  and  lead  the  recitation.  This 
quality  of  leadership  challenges  interest  and  carries  the  pupil 
with  a  sweep  of  enthusiasm  to  the  end.  To  lead  most  wisely  is 
so  to  direct  the  current  of  thought  as  if  it  were  not  directed.  The 
highest  art  in  teaching  is  to  conceal  that  art,  to  guide  by  sug- 
gestion and  not  by  command. 

22.  The  teacher  will  strive  to  secure  a  major  part  of  the  dis- 
cussion from  the  pupil.  He  will  know  when  not  to  talk.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  is  the  thing  the  teacher  causes 
the  pupil  to  do,  not  the  thing  the  teacher  does  in  the  presence 
of  the  pupil,  that  is  most  significant.  Many  a  class  is  talked 
into  mental  stupor  and  spiritual  indifference.  A  garrulous 
teacher  is  an  abomination. 

23.  A  wise  teacher  will  work  for  his  pupils.  His  aim  will 
be  steadily  to  aid  them  out  of  class  as  well  as  in  class.  I  know 
a  teacher  who  meets  his  class  occasionally  for  a  social  hour  in  an 
informal  way.  The  boys  of  that  class  are  enthusiastic 
believers  in  their  teacher  and  in  the  power  of  practical  Christian 
fellowship.  Look  into  the  Elder  Brother  movement,  the  value 
of  an  organized  class,  and  kindred  movements  that  give  the 
teacher  the  power  to  direct  conduct  in  the  pupil.  Here  you 
will  find  the  key  to  many  successful  avenues  of  usefulness  to  the 
pupil.  The  significance  of  all  this  lies  in  the  general  value  of  a 
♦^eacher  who  by  word  and  by  deed  makes  easy  the  way  of  the 
pupil  to  the  Master. 

24.  A  good  teacher  will  know  when  to  commend  and  when 
not  to  commend.  He  will  not  open  himself  to  the  criticism  that 
his  praise  is  overdue;  nor  will  he,  on  the  other  hand,  constantly 
scold  and  complain  and  nag  his  pupils.  He  will  insist  upon 
order  and  industry  and  will  labor  assiduously  to  arouse  enthu- 
siasm in  the  class.     He  will  constantly  endeavor  to  see  things 


Lesson  3  189 

from  the  pupils'  point  of  view  and  sympathize  with  the  pupils' 
plan  of  thought.  He  will  not  forget  that  he  was  once  a  child, 
and  he  will  steadily  pray  for  that  wise  charity  that  knows  the 
difference  between  childish  caprice  and  youthful  viciousness. 
He  will  not  seriously  regard  the  former;  he  will  not  fail  to  check 
and  rebuke  the  latter. 

25.  A  wise  teacher  will  aim  at  a  few  things  and  bend  his 
energies  to  achieve  them.  He  will  not  dissipate  his  power  by 
undertaking  to  do  too  many  things.  He  will  fix  upon  some  domi- 
nant purpose  and  cause  it  to  run  like  a  thread  of  gold  throughout 
the  recitation.  I  once  heard  a  preacher  begin  his  discourse  with 
the  Garden  of  Eden  and  end  it  with  the  New  Jerusalem.  He 
said  so  many  things  in  an  unrelated  way  that  his  effort  was 
wholly  wasted.  It  is  a  mark  of  weakness  to  engage  in  mental 
sauntering.  The  wise  teacher  will  hold  a  thought  before  his 
pupils  until,  like  a  jewel,  it  flashes  light  from  every  facet.  He 
will  also  use  the  best  things  done  by  some  one  pupil  to  stimulate 
like  results  in  others.  Above  all,  a  consecrated  teacher  will 
not  grow  weary  in  well  doing,  for  he  should  have  an  unflinching 
faith  in  God,  in  his  pupil,  and  in  the  power  of  his  teaching  to 
produce  Christian  character. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  teacher's  goal? 

2.  At  what  point  in  the  teaching  plan  do  many  teachers  go 
wrong? 

3.  Who  must  lead  in  the  teaching  process — teachers  or  pupils? 
Why? 

4.  What  is  the  highest  art  in  teaching? 

5.  Who  should  do  most  of  the  talking — pupils  or  teacher? 

6.  Why  should  a  teacher  work  with  pupils  out  of  the  class 
hour  as  well  as  in  it? 

7.  What  should  be  the  teacher's  attitude  toward  caprice  or 
toward  viciousness? 

8.  Should  the  teacher  aim  at  a  few  things  or  many?     Why? 


Lesson  4 
What  the  Pupil  Should  Do 

26.  The  Pupil's  Part. — The  part  the  pupil  takes  in  the  act 
of  learning  is  all-important.  The  success  of  the  recitation  is 
in  a  large  degree  conditioned  by  the  attitude  of  the  pupil.  He 
must  be  organized  and  directed  by  the  teacher  for  the  process 
of  instruction.  What  the  pupil  wUl  do  in  the  recitation  is  con- 
ditioned upon  the  skill  and  power  of  the  teacher.  When  the  pupil 
fails  to  do  what  he  should  do  the  fault  usually  lies  with  the  teacher. 
The  pupil  does  that  which  the  teacher  stimulates  him  to  do. 

27.  The  pupil  should  approach  the  recitation  willingly  and 
gladly.  The  pupil  who  is  in  class  against  his  will  is  a  difficult 
pupil  to  teach,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  or  not  any  lasting  good 
results  from  enforced  attendance.  Parents  should  not  overlook 
this  fact,  and  teachers  will  find  here  a  hint  of  unusual  significance. 
This  willing,  joyous  approach  to  the  lesson  is  conditioned  upon 
at  least  four  things:  (a)  the  preparation  of  the  lesson  by  the 
pupil  in  advance;  (b)  the  absence  of  other  appeals  more  enticing 
to  the  interest  of  the  pupils;  (c)  the  quality  of  teaching  power 
and  skill  exercised  by  the  teacher;  (d)  the  spirit  of  good-will 
and  of  kindly  concern  that  rules  the  school  as  a  whole. 

28.  The  Pupil* s  Preparation. — From  the  smaller  pupils  no 
formal  preparation  can  be  demanded  in  advance.  But  for 
all,  the  lesson  should  be  read,  either  by  the  pupil  or  by  some  one  in 
the  home,  prior  to  the  time  of  the  recitation.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  indicate  briefly  the  week  preceding  just  what  leading  ideas 
and  incidents  the  pupils  should  master  before  the  recitation 
occurs.  There  are  many  indirect  acts  that  the  pupil  may  per- 
form during  the  week  that  may  fittingly  be  regarded  as  prepara- 
tion for  the  lesson ;  such  as  visits  to  the  sick,  efforts  to  bring  new 
members  to  the  class,  incidents  of  the  week  which  made  a  marked 
impression  for  good,  and  kindred  matters.  These  can  all  be 
touched  upon  by  the  teacher  by  judicious  questioning,  and  in 
this  way,  at  the  opening  of  the  recitation,  lead  each  pupil  to 
make  some  statement  of  a  good  done.  This  will  promote  the 
moral  atmosphere  so  vital  to  successful  interpretation  of  the  lesson. 

190 


Lesson  4  191 


29.  Divided  Interests. — Many  times  the  pupU  comes  reluct- 
antly to  the  Sunday-school  because  his  interests  lie  for  that  hour 
elsewhere.  If  the  parents  go  on  a  pleasure  trip,  it  is  unfair  to 
compel  the  child  to  forfeit  the  same  opportunity.  Wise  parents 
will  show  the  more  excellent  way  by  themselves  accompanying 
their  children  to  the  Sunday-school.  My  own  father  never  led 
his  boys  to  the  silent  recesses  of  the  mountain  brooks  to  see 
God's  wonder  world  until  after  we  had  returned  from  the 
Sunday-school.  To  enjoy  the  former  we  were  unconsciously 
encouraged  to  attend  the  latter.  The  so-called  "liberal"  Sab- 
bath is  the  foe  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  all  friends  of  the  best 
things  should  oppose  the  lessening  of  the  power  that  wins  child- 
hood for  the  Master  through  regular  attendance  upon  his  school. 

30.  When  pupils  dislike  the  teacher  because  he  is  weak  or  rude 
or  petulant  or  unprepared  to  teach,  it  is  difficult  to  keep  these 
pupils  in  regular  attendance.  Each  teacher  should  constantly 
ask  himself,  How  may  I  personally  add  to  the  attractiveness  of 
the  Sunday-school  ?  Careful  inquiry  and  close  supervision  of  the 
classes  by  the  superintendent  should  compel  good  teaching  or 
a  prompt  change  of  teachers.  It  is  useless  to  expect  pupils  to 
love  the  Sunday-school  well  enough  to  endure  a  worthless 
teacher.  How  often  pupils  grow  weary  in  attendance  because 
the  teacher  has  no  power  to  woo  the  young  spirit  to  the  foun- 
tains of  love  and  light !  On  the  other  hand,  how  gladly  and  how 
regularly  children  turn  to  the  Sunday-school  when  a  great- 
hearted and  warm-spirited  teacher  is  always  there  to  welcome 
and  to  nourish  them! 

31.  There  is  a  marvelous  attractive  power  in  a  well -organized 
school.  When  the  spirit  that  rules  in  it  and  the  organization  that 
guides  it  are  so  wisely  fostered  as  to  create  in  the  school  an  atmos- 
phere of  genuine  stimulation  the  pupil  will  find  it  easy  to  come 
gladly,  to  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "I  was  glad  when  they  said 
unto  me.  Let  us  go  unto  the  house  of  Jehovah." 

32.  Reverence. — In  the  recitation  proper,  the  pupil  should  be 
helped  to  be  reverent,  well-behaved,  and  actively  absorbed  in 
the  lesson.  He  should  be  shown  the  gains  of  complying  promptly 
and  cheerfully  with  the  requests  of  his  teacher;  the  King's  busi- 
ness must  be  conducted  with  decency  and  dispatch.    He  should 


192  The  Teacher 

develop  a  quickening  concern  for  the  welfare  of  his  classmates 
and  foster  a  wholesome  support  to  the  class  as  an  organization. 
It  is  not  always  the  lesson  taught  but  the  spirit  that  rules  during 
the  lesson  that  wins  the  young  spirit  to  adoration  and  service. 

33.  Regularity  and  Promptness. — The  early  acquisition  of 
the  habits  of  regularity  and  promptness  in  attendance  are  virtues 
of  no  mean  moment  in  the  life  of  the  learner.  Whatever  may  be 
legitimately  done  to  promote  these  habits  is  worthily  done. 
An  essential  part  of  the  discipline  of  life  lies  in  acquiring  dependa- 
ble habits.  It  is  the  systematic  attendance  upon  the  Sunday- 
school  that  at  last  leads  the  pupil  to  say  again,  "I  was  glad  when 
they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  unto  the  house  of  Jehovah."  Some 
unique  and  valuable  exercise  at  the  opening  of  the  recitation, 
occupying  but  a  minute  or  two  of  time,  will  often  prove  of 
great  value.  I  have  headed  this  chapter,  "What  the  pupil  should 
do,"  because  it  is  not  what  the  pupil  thinks,  nor  what  he  says, 
that  is  of  greatest  moment.  It  is  his  conduct  in  the  class  and 
his  conduct  during  the  week  in  home,  in  school,  in  play,  that 
tests  most  directly  the  value  of  the  teaching  he  receives.  The 
focus  of  teacher  concern  is  not  what  the  pupil  learns,  but  what 
the  pupil  does;  not  thought,  but  conduct;  not  theory,  but  prac- 
tise; not  ideas,  but  acts;  not  ability  to  answer  questions,  but 
ability  to  live  a  clean,  sweet,  quiet  Christian  life.  All  teaching 
that  falls  short  of  this  goal  is  unworthy  teaching.  The  supreme 
test  of  teaching,  laid  down  by  the  Master,  is  that  we  should  do 
the  will  of  our  Father  that  is  in  heaven. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Whose  fault  is  it,  generally,  if  the  pupil  fails  to  do  what 
he  ought  in  the  class? 

2.  What  four  things  help  to  the  pupil's  willing  approach  to 
the  lesson? 

3.  In  what  ways  may  a  pupil  prepare  for  the  lesson  period? 

4.  How  may  the  pupil  be  spared  a  division  of  interest  ? 

5.  What  should  be  the  pupil's  attitude  and  bearing  during  the 
recitation? 

6.  What  should  be  the  real  focus  of  the  teacher's  concern  about 
the  pupil? 


Lesson  5 
What  Teaching  Is 

34.  Teaching  Defined. — The  Sunday-school  teacher  as  much 
as  any  other  teacher  should  understand  clearly  what  teaching  is. 
Teaching  is  not  telling,  and  no  amount  of  talking  to  the  pupil 
can  be  considered  as  teaching.  Teaching  is  not  determined  by 
anything  that  happens  outside  the  pupil,  but  by  the  action  of 
the  pupil's  soul  upon  the  things  presented  to  it  through  the  senses. 
Teaching  may  be  defined  as  causing  a  human  soul  to  know. 

35.  Everything  outside  the  learner  may  be  considered  his 
teacher.  We  are  taught  in  the  broadest  sense  by  the  spirit  of 
God's  universe  expressed  in  terms  of  order  and  law.  We  are 
taught  in  a  more  restricted  sense  by  our  immediate  environment, 
and  especially  by  the  people  whose  lives  come  in  close  contact 
with  our  own.  In  the  most  restricted  sense  we  are  taught  by  a 
trained  mind,  and  this  trained  mind  belongs  to  a  person  called 
a  teacher.  The  process  of  teaching  may  be  considered  as  the 
act  of  bringing  into  the  consciousness  of  the  learner  the  knowledge 
already  in  the  consciousness  of  the  teacher.  We  cannot  teach 
what  we  do  not  know.  Teaching  ends  when  the  pupil  knows 
all  that  the  teacher  knows. 

36.  Impression  and  Expression. — When  I  say  that  I  know  a 
certain  thing,  I  mean  that  my  soul  possesses  that  thing  and 
knows  that  it  possesses  it;  this  is  consciousness.  The  teaching 
act  completes  itself  when  the  learner  is  able  to  express  in  lan- 
guage or  otherwise  the  facts  in  consciousness.  The  soul  is  not 
fully  educated  until  it  has  reached  the  point  of  expression. 

37.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  teaching  is  possible  only  when 
the  soul  is  actively  seeking  new  knowledge.  This  attempt  of  the 
soul  to  seek  new  knowledge  causes  it,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
to  focus  itself  upon  some  one  object  of  thought  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  other  objects  of  thought.  This  act  is  called  attention. 
When  the  will  directs  the  attention  it  is  called  voluntary  atten- 
tion. When  some  other  agency  than  the  will  directs  the  atten- 
tion it  is  called  involuntary  attention. 

13  193 


194  The  Teacher 

38.  Securing  Attention. — The  greatest  art  in  teaching  is  to 
secure  attention.  The  highest  form  of  attention  is  voluntary 
attention.  The  young  child  does  not  possess  sufficient  will- 
power to  control  attention;  consequently  in  the  early  grades 
some  other  agent  than  a  command  of  the  will  must  hold  atten- 
tion. This  other  agent  in  a  general  way  may  be  characterized 
as  interest.  In  other  words,  the  young  child's  interests  hold 
his  attention,  and  the  thing  in  which  he  takes  the  greatest 
interest  will  easiest  attract  his  attention. 

39.  There  are  certain  well-known  principles  underlying  the 
interest  of  the  child.  First,  his  curiosity;  second,  novelty,  or 
unexpectedness;  third,  imitativeness;  fourth,  illustrations  based 
upon  his  experience.  The  teacher  cannot  be  too  careful  to 
consider  what  is  of  interest  to  a  child.  We  cannot  measure  the 
interests  of  a  child  by  the  interests  of  an  adult.  Here  the 
study  of  child  nature  is  the  only  safe  and  adequate  guidance. 

40.  How  Knowledge  Reaches  the  Soul. — There  are  but 
five  gateways  to  the  soul  of  a  child,  called  the  senses: — 
Seeing,  hearing,  touching,  tasting,  smelling.  There  are  no 
other  channels  of  approach.  Whatever  increases  the  breadth 
of  this  sense-approach  in  a  subject  of  study  increases  the  interest 
of  the  learner  in  that  subject.  If  I  tell  a  child  about  a  hall,  I 
utilize  his  sense  of  hearing;  if  I  show  him  a  ball,  at  the  same 
time  I  describe  it,  I  utilize  seeing  and  hearing;  if  I  hand  him 
a  ball,  as  I  describe  it,  I  utilize  touching,  seeing,  and  hearing. 
A  single  fact  reaching  consciousness  through  the  senses  and  rec- 
ognized in  consciousness  is  called  a  percept  or  a  particular  notion. 
It  is  sometimes  called  an  idea.  The  soul  in  giving  expression  to 
an  idea  uses  a  word  or  some  other  sign  for  the  idea.  Thus  words 
are  the  signs  of  ideas. 

41.  When  other  facts  of  a  similar  character  reach  consciousness, 
and  are  identified  there  with  the  first  percept,  the  percept 
becomes  a  concept,  general  notion  or  general  idea,  just  as  the 
percept  is  an  individual  idea;  that  is,  the  percept  stands  for 
one  object  apprehended  in  consciousness;  the  concept  stands  for  a 
group  of  similar  objects  under  one  name  apprehended  in  con- 
sciousness. All  common  nouns  are  concepts  just  as  all  proper 
nouns   are   percepts.      In   the   sentence,    "Washington  was   a 


Lesson  5  195 

brave  man,"  it  is  plain  that  "Washington"  is  a  particular  idea 
or  percept  and  "man"  is  a  general  idea  or  concept. 

42.  Judgment  and  Reasoning. — The  aim  of  the  teacher  is, 
first,  to  secure  clear  percepts,  and  then  rapidly  to  change  these 
percepts  into  concepts,  which  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that 
good  teaching  relates  the  things  in  the  soul  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  the  child  the  fewest  possible  terms  with  which  to  carry  the 
largest  possible  number  of  particular  facts.  Concepts  are  the 
shorthand  of  the  soul's  language.  When  these  concepts  are 
compared  and  their  agreement  or  disagreement  noted  the  soul 
is  forming  judgments.  When  these  judgments  are  expressed 
in  language  the  soul  is  forming  sentences.  When  these  judg- 
ments are  compared  and  their  agreement  or  disagreement  noted, 
the  soul  is  reasoning.  Sentences  are  the  signs  of  judgments 
or  reasons,  just  as  words  are  the  signs  of  percepts  or  concepts. 
Thus  the  percept  first  comes;  the  percept  grows  into  the  con- 
cept; the  concept  into  the  judgment;  the  judgment  into  rea- 
soning; and  these  are  the  four  steps  in  the  process  of  knowing. 
They  are  the  tools  of  thought.  Teaching  must  be  a  training  in 
the  use  of  these  tools. 

43.  Memory  is  of  little  use  unless  it  is  simply  the  power 
to  hold  things  clearly  understood  by  the  soul.  It  is  not  good 
teaching  to  burden  the  memory  with  masses  of  things  not  clearly 
perceived  and  conceived,  although  it  may  be  at  the  beginning 
not  at  all  objectionable  to  commit  to  memory  certain  great 
utterances  from  the  Bible  and  other  standard  literature,  even 
when  the  meaning  is  not  clearly  and  fully  apprehended.  But 
at  the  earliest  time  possible  these  should  be  analyzed  and  the 
meaning  worked  into  forms  of  clear  knowledge. 

44.  Imagination. — Imagination  is  the  power  of  the  soul  to 
work  up  into  new  combinations  the  things  in  memory.  Mem- 
ory keeps  things  as  the  soul  got  them  through  the  senses. 
The  products  of  memory  have  a  basis  in  experience.  The 
products  of  imagination  have  no  such  basis  in  experience. 
Imagination  is  the  creator  of  new  products.  It  cares  not  for 
facts,  but  works  after  its  own  fancy.  It  is  a  more  dangerous 
power  because  more  free.  To  curb  it  at  the  outset  is  necessary. 
To  allow  it  free  range  is  to  open  the  way  for  statements  from  the 


196  The  Teacher 

child  that  often  alarm  the  parent  or  teacher.  But  when  the 
moral  sense  is  awakened  and  governs  imagination  the  latter  be- 
comes the  agency  that  creates  all  art  and  enriches  all  life. 

45.  Teaching  aims  to  develop  by  appropriate  exercise  all  these 
powers  of  the  soul.  What  the  pupil  learns  is  not  so  important  as 
what  power  he  gains  in  the  control  of  his  thinking  processes. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  teaching? 

2.  When  does  teaching  end? 

3.  What  is  consciousness? 

4.  What  marks  the  completion  of  the  teaching  act? 

5.  What   is  attention?     Voluntary?     Involuntary? 

6.  What  will  most  easily  attract  the  attention  of  a  young 
child? 

7.  State  four  principles  underlying  the  child's  interest? 

8.  Name  the  gateways  to  the  soul. 

9.  What  is  a  percept?     A  concept? 

10.  State  the  four  steps  in  the  process  of  knowing. 

11.  When  is  memory  of  most  use? 

12.  What  is  imagination? 

Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  1  to  5 

1.  What  point  of  view  must  the  teacher  take? 

2.  Is  it  true  that  teachers  are  "born"  not  "made"? 

3.  What  does  apperception  mean? 

4.  By  what  means  does  knowledge  enter  the  soul? 

5.  What  is  the  teacher's  goal? 

6.  What  is  the  highest  art  in  teaching? 

7.  What  four  things  help  to  the  pupil's  approach  to  the 
lesson? 

8.  What   should  be  the  teacher's  real  concern  about   the 
pupil? 

9.  What  is  teaching? 

10.  What   is   attention?     Voluntary?     Involuntary? 

11.  State  four  principles  underlying  the  child's  interest. 

12.  Name  the  gateway  to  the  soul. 


Lesson  6 
What  an  Educational  Principle  Is 

46.  Laws  of  the  SouL — Everything  in  this  world  behaves 
in  a  certain  way  under  certain  conditions.  All  the  things  in 
God's  great,  good  world  operate  in  harmony  with  some  force 
or  power  that  is  always  present  and  that  always  does  or  causes 
to  be  done  the  same  thing.  When  once  we  have  discovered  this 
power  and  stated  in  a  formula  how  it  behaves  we  have  a  law. 
The  soul  is  no  exception  to  this  general  statement.  It  behaves, 
under  similar  conditions,  in  the  same  way.  When  once  we  have 
discovered  how  the  soul  acts  and  formulate  its  methods  of  action 
we  have  a  law  of  the  soul. 

47.  From  these  laws  of  the  soul  we  may  also  learn  how  to  make 
the  soul  grow  in  a  certain  desired  way.  We  can  also  discover 
the  laws  in  the  materials  which  we  use  to  cause  growth  in  the 
soul.  These  laws  become  the  guide  to  all  good  teaching.  They 
are  here  called  educational  laws  or  principles. 

48.  Educational  Principles. — Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  educa- 
tional principles  rest  upon  the  laws  of  the  soul.  They  tell  us  in 
brief  and  clear  statements  what  should  govern  us  in  teaching  a 
growing  soul.  If  one  turns  to  any  treatise  on  pedagogy  he  will 
find  there  a  statement  of  these  laws.  Of  course,  these  will  be 
found  to  vary  somewhat  because  no  one  is  quite  certain  that  the 
last  facts  concerning  the  soul  are  known. 

49.  But  the  important  thing  is  not,  after  all,  what  one  finds 
in  the  books,  but  what  one  is  finally  led  to  accept  as  his  own 
guiding  principles.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  one 
should  have  certain  general  principles  of  education  as  standards 
by  which  to  test  his  own  teaching.  A  ship  without  a  compass 
sails  a  no  less  aimless  or  dangerous  course  than  does  a  teacher 
without  pedagogic  guidance.  What  the  compass  is  to  the  ship, 
educational  principles  are  to  the  teacher.  Thus  educational 
principles  aid  in  achieving  the  end  or  purpose  of  the  educational 
process;  which  end  is,  according  to  Spencer,  "to  live  completely," 
or,  as  we  usually  say,  to  fit  each  one  to  live  in  the  exercise  of  all 

197 


198  The  Teacher 

the  pov/er  God  made  it  possible  for  him  to  enjoy.     To  realize 
this  end  teaching  must  proceed  according  to  law. 

50.  The  first  law  to  be  noted  is  that  the  subject  matter  pre- 
sented to  a  growing  soul  must  be  adapted  to  the  capacity  of 
the  learner.  This  law  is  so  self-evident  that  we  unconsciously 
observe  it.  We  do  not  give  the  same  kind  of  lessons  to  a  child 
in  the  primary  grade  that  we  should  and  do  give  to  the  pupil 
in  the  Adult  Bible  class.  The  whole  significance  of  graded  exer- 
cises is  based  upon  this  fundamental  principle.  This  law  rests 
upon  the  generally  accepted  fact  that  the  different  powers  of 
the  soul  change  their  relative  activity  during  the  years  of  growth. 

51.  The  second  principle  is  equally  important:  There  is  a 
natural  order  in  which  the  powers  of  the  soul  should  be 
exercised.  This  order  is  the  ordet  of  their  activity.  The 
earliest  power  to  become  educationally  active  is  sensation,  the 
last  is  reason,  and  hence  we  can  phrase  this  law  in  the  maxim 
"from  sense  to  reason."  Different  writers  state  the  same  thing 
in  the  following  way:  observation  before  reasoning;  the  concrete 
before  the  abstract;  sense  knowledge  before  thought  knowledge; 
facts  before  definitions;  processes  before  rules;  the  particular 
before  the  general ;  the  simple  before  the  complex;  from  the  known 
to  the  next  related  unknown.  All  these  maxims  may  be  traced 
to  the  same  law  of  the  soul,  and  they  may  all  be  summed  up  in 
the  maxim,  teaching  must  proceed  from  things  to  symbols,  since 
the  senses  deal  with  things  and  reason  deals  with  symbols.  No 
wise  teacher  will  pass  this  law  by  until  its  full  significance  is 
understood.  Jesus  was  a  masterful  teacher.  He  observed  this 
law  frequently.  Note  the  examples  in  the  Gospels,  using  the 
incident  at  Jacob's  well  as  an  example,  ^sop's  fables  are  all 
built  upon  the  principle  here  laid  down,  as  are  the  numerous 
fairy  tales  by  the  Grimms,  Andersen,  and  others. 

52.  Since  the  soul  grows  only  by  its  own  activity  a  third  law 
arises:  Knowledge  can  be  acquired  only  by  occasioning 
the  proper  activity  in  the  soul  of  the  pupil.  It  is  always 
important  to  keep  in  mind  that  it  is  not  what  the  teacher  thinks 
and  does,  but  what  he  causes  the  pupil  to  think  and  do,  that 
makes  for  knowledge.  The  best  teaching  secures  the  best 
mental   activity  on  the  part  of  the  pupil. 


Lesson  6  199 

53.  Just  what  the  proper  activity  is  may  be  seen  by  a  con- 
sideration of  a  fourth  principle:  First  presentations  of  new 
knowledge  must  be  made  objectively  in  all  grades  of  the 
school.  Ideas  cannot  be  taught  through  words.  They  can  be 
taught  through  objects,  and  the  ideas  can  then  be  named.  The 
name  is  the  word.  This  law  may  be  stated  as  "ideas  before 
words."  It  stands  as  a  protest  against  abstract  and  formal 
teaching.  It  demands  that  knowledge  shall  be  fitted  to  the 
nature  of  the  soul's  growth.  The  child  that  for  the  first  time 
was  shown  a  growing  fern  in  a  vase  and  called  it  "a  pot  of 
green  feathers"  was  on  the  right  track.  He  will  in  due  time 
acquire  the  right  word.  His  idea  is  clear.  It  follows  also  that 
the  only  words  in  which  knowledge  can  be  presented  to  the  soul  are 
words  that  name  known  thiiigs. 

54.  These  and  many  other  principles  are  the  basis  of  the  whole 
teaching  process.  Happy  that  child  whose  teacher  has  thought 
his  way  through  these  essential  laws  and  observes  them  in  all 
the  activities  of  the  recitation.  No  teacher  can  grow  in  power 
or  skill  without  mastering  the  meaning  of  these  laws,  which  may 
be  called  the  alphabet  of  the  teacher's  preparation.  These  laws 
the  teacher  should  always  have  in  mind  as  guidance.  They  are 
not  to  be  announced  to  the  pupil.  Jesus  always  followed 
great  educational  principles,  but  he  never  announced  these  to 
his  disciples.  When  you  say  "That  is  a  good  lesson,"  you  mean 
that  the  lesson  is  in  harmony  with  laws  of  teaching  you  know  to  be 
good.     There  is  no  other  basis  of  judging  the  worth  of  a  teacher. 

Test  Questions 

1 .  What  is  meant  by  a  law  of  the  soul  ? 

2.  Why  are  educational  principles  needed? 

3.  What  is  the  first  law  as  to  the  subject  matter  of  teaching? 
The  second? 

4.  What  is  the  earliest  power  that  becomes  educationally 
active? 

5.  What  maxim  sums  up  the  order  in  which  the  soul -powers 
should  be  exercised? 

6.  State  the  third  law  of  the  soul.   The  fourth.     Illustrate. 


Lesson  7 
What  an  Educational  Method  Is 

55.  Applying  Principles. — When  the  teacher  puts  an  edu- 
cational principle  to  work  in  the  act  of  teaching  he  uses  a  method 
A  method  is  a  principle  applied,  put  into  operation.  Principles 
make  up  one's  educational  theory;  methods  make  up  one's 
educational  practise.  It  is  as  important  to  have  a  good  method 
as  it  is  to  have  a  good  law.  The  way  a  law  is  applied  is  a 
method.  When  we  agreed  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to 
teach  scientific  temperance  to  our  children  we  announced  a  prin- 
ciple. To  apply  this  led  to  the  use  of  the  school.  Teaching  in 
the  school  the  subject  of  scientific  temperance  became  a  method. 
We  might  have  chosen  the  home,  the  church,  or  any  other  agency. 

56.  One's  method  is  often  the  test  of  one's  principle.  If  I  say 
that  repetition  makes  for  clear  knowledge  I  announce  a  law  or 
principle.  The  test  of  the  law  is  the  way  the  soul  acts  under 
repetition.  Does  the  learner  gain  in  clearness  of  knowledge  by 
repetition?     If  so,  the  law  is  true.     If  not,  the  law  is  not  true. 

57.  Kinds  of  Methods. — Methods  are  of  two  kinds:  general 
and  special.  A  general  method  may  be  followed  in  teaching  all 
the  different  subjects  that  make  up  a  course  of  study.  A  special 
method  is  followed  in  teaching  one  particular  subject  or  a  part 
of  a  subject.  A  device  is  merely  a  temporary  resort  to  some 
special  act  to  accomplish  an  immediate  result.  Methods,  general 
and  special,  may  be  used  again  and  again.  A  device  rarely  can 
be  repeated,  since  the  same  conditions  may  never  again  arise. 

58.  Analytic  and  Synthetic  Method. — A  lesson,  like  a  jack- 
knife,  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  parts.  We  may  begin  the 
recitation  by  presenting  first  the  object  or  lesson  as  a  whole 
and  follow  with  a  study  of  the  parts;  this  is  the  analytic  method. 
Or  we  may  begin  the  recitation  by  presenting  first  the  parts, 
one  at  a  time,  and  follow  with  a  study  of  the  object  as  a 
whole.  This  is  the  synthetic  method  in  teaching.  These  two 
general  methods  are  usually  combined  in  a  complete  lesson. 
That  is  to  say,  we  usually  consider  first  the  whole  thought,  then 


Lesson  7  201 

analyze  it  into  its  several  parts,  and  when  each  part  is  understood, 
we  combine  by  synthesis  the  parts  into  the  general  thought. 
If,  for  example,  we  begin  by  citing  the  golden  text,  and  then 
analyze  the  lesson  to  find  the  parts  that  illustrate  the  meaning 
in  the  golden  text,  and  finally  combine  these  parts  into  a  fuller 
understanding  of  the  golden  text,  the  process  is  analytico-syn- 
thetic.  The  purpose  of  this  thought  exercise  is  to  enlarge  the 
learner's  comprehension  of  the  general  truth  in  the  lesson.  In 
the  earlier  years  teaching  should  be  largely  synthetic;  in  later 
years,  analytic.  A  study  of  the  growth  of  the  powers  of  the  soul 
will  show  why  this  is  so. 

59.  Inductive  and  Deductive  Method. — When  once  the 
mind  is  trained  to  analyze  fairly  well  it  is  possible  to  use  another 
set  of  general  methods.  In  reasoning  we  may  begin  with  par- 
ticular facts,  with  simple  sensations,  with  the  individual  notions 
based  upon  concrete  experience,  and  rise  step  by  step  to  a  general 
law.  If  we  pursue  this  plan  in  the  recitation,  we  use  the  inductive 
method  in  teaching.  If  we  pursue  the  opposite  order,  beginning 
with  some  general  law  or  principle  and  proceed  by  reasoning  to 
special  or  particular  facts,  we  use  the  deductive  method  in  teaching. 
The  parable  of  the  sower  is  a  good  example  of  inductive  teaching. 
The  seventh  chapter  of  Matthew  contains  a  number  of  excellent 
examples  of  deductive  teaching.  Note  carefully  the  method  by 
which  Jesus  makes  plain  the  words,  "Beware  of  false  prophets." 
These  general  methods  are  followed  always  in  one  order  or 
another  by  every  good  teacher. 

60.  The  recitation  also  affords  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
special  methods.  We  may  or  we  may  not  ask  questions.  We 
may  or  we  may  not  assign  topics,  we  may  or  we  may  not  draw 
pictures  on  a  blackboard.  We  may  or  we  may  not  ask  pupils  to 
consult  the  text  of  the  lesson  in  reciting  the  same.  These  facts 
suggest  methods  that  the  wise  teacher  will  consider  carefully. 

61.  Questioning. — If  the  teacher  asks  and  requires  the  pupils 
to  answer  a  series  of  questions  he  is  using  the  question  method. 
It  is  a  good  method  because  it  compels  the  pupils  to  think  and  to 
give  expression  in  proper  language  to  their  thoughts.  It  is 
vastly  better  than  telling,  for  telling  things  to  pupils  is  not  teach- 
ing, since  it  fails  to  cause  the  pupil's  mind  to  act  in  any  creative 


202  The  Teacher 

way.  It  is  a  much  abused  method  because  many  questions  that 
an  unwise  teacher  asks  do  not  lead  by  synthesis  to  a  common 
general  truth  or  law.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  simplest  form 
of  questioning  seeks  only  to  obtain  in  answer  a  statement  of 
fact,  as  when  one  asks  how  many  miles  it  is  from  Jerusalem 
to  Jericho,  or  who  betrayed  Jesus,  or  any  similar  question  that 
calls  for  a  statement  of  fact.  A  better  question  is  one  that  sets 
all  the  currents  of  thought  aflow,  that  causes  one  to  stop,  think, 
weigh,  ponder,  deliberate,  before  framing  an  answer.  A  careful 
study  of  Jesus'  method  of  asking  questions  is  of  the  utmost 
value  m  mastering  the  fine  art  of  teaching  by  the  question 
method.  In  Luke  9  Jesus  asks  the  question,  "Who  do  the  mul- 
titudes say  that  I  am?"  After  the  disciples  had  reported  all 
the  guesses  of  the  people,  he  asked,  "  But  who  say  ye  that  I 
am?"  This  question  went  to  the  heart  of  the  subject  of  his 
identity.  It  forced  from  Peter  a  great  declaration.  Wise  ques- 
tioning always  touches  the  very  center  of  discussion  and  crys- 
tallizes thought. 

62.  For  more  advanced  classes  it  is  a  good  plan  to  assign  in 
advance  certain  subjects  to  be  recited  by  the  pupil  in  the  reci- 
tation. When  this  is  done,  the  teacher  uses  the  topical  method. 
It  requires  a  maximum  of  effort  and  should  not  be  used  with 
young  pupils.     It  is  an  excellent  method  in  the  Bible  classes. 

63.  Illustrations. — If  the  teacher  uses  objects,  pictures,  or 
drawings  to  make  meaningful  his  language  in  teaching,  he  is 
using  the  illustrated  method.  This  is  especially  valuable  in  the 
primary  grades.  The  one  necessary  caution  is  that  the  objects, 
pictures,  or  drawings  shall  be  wisely  selected,  and  that  in  their  use 
special  care  be  taken  that  the  interest  of  the  pupils  is  focused  upon 
the  thought  or  fact  to  be  taught  and  not  upon  the  illustration. 

64.  If  the  teacher  allows  the  pupils  to  consult  the  text  while 
reciting,  his  method  is  likely  to  produce  little  permanent  good. 
To  fix  the  lesson  in  memory,  to  lay  aside  all  books,  to  face  the 
anxious  and  earnest  teacher,  is  to  secure  the  best  results.  Of 
course,  there  are  times  when  the  text  is  to  be  studied  and  when 
it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  the  printed  lesson,  but  a  wise  teacher 
will  remember  that  when  soul  looks  into  soul  the  greatest  pos- 
sible good  comes  from  teaching. 


Lesson  7  203 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  meant  by  a  teaching  method? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  the  analytic  method? 

3.  The  synthetic  method? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  the  inductive  method? 

5.  The  deductive  method? 

6.  Why  is  the  question  method  a  good  one? 

7.  Why  is  mere  telling  not  teaching? 

8.  What  kind  of  question  is  better  than  that  which  merely 
draws  out  a  fact? 

9.  What  is  the  topical  method,  and  with  what  pupils  should 
it  be  used? 

10.  What  is  the  gain  in  using  illustrations?     What  the  danger? 

11.  Should  the  lesson  text  be  consulted  by  the  pupU  when 
reciting?     Why? 


Lesson  8 
What  the  Concrete  Means  in  Teaching 

65.  Value  of  the  Concrete. — The  world  is  made  up  of  concrete 
things;  that  is,  things  which  can  be  recognized  by  the  senses. 
The  first  impressions  the  soul  gets  of  this  world  are  concrete. 
We  call  them  individual  or  perceptual  notions.  The  soul  com- 
pares, classifies,  generalizes  these  concrete  notions  into  general 
or  conceptual  notions.  These  thought  products  are  abstract. 
But  all  knowledge  begins  in  these  individual  notions  and  hence 
all  first  presentations  of  a  new  lesson  or  a  new  object  of  thought 
must  be  in  the  concrete.  The  richer  and  more  varied  the  con- 
crete data,  the  more  valuable  is  the  mental  result  in  abstract 
thought.  When  an  abstract  notion  is  presented  to  a  class  it  is 
of  no  educational  value  unless  it  can  be  referred  back  in  the  mind 
of  each  pupil  to  some  concrete  experience  in  his  own  past.  The 
teacher,  knowing  this,  will  always  aim  to  interpret  general  truths, 
which  are  abstract,  into  terms  of  experience,  which  are  concrete. 
When  David  wishes  to  express  the  thirst  of  his  soul  for  God  he 
says,  "As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth 
my  soul  after  thee,  O  God."  To  a  people  familiar  with  the  habits 
of  the  hart  this  language  at  once  made  vividly  real,  in  a  con- 
crete image,  the  great  longing  the  pure  soul  has  for  its  Creator. 

66.  All  the  tentacles  of  the  soul  seem  to  find  in  the  concrete 
thing  great  sources  of  nourishment.  Note  the  crowds  that  throng 
the  zoological  gardens,  the  flower  expositions,  the  picture  gal- 
leries, the  museums  of  one  sort  or  another,  to  see  the  potency  of 
the  concrete  as  a  great  teaching  power.  Explore  a  boy's  pocket  to 
learn  what  the  concrete  is  worth.  Why  all  these  "scraps," 
broken  glass,  rusty  nails,  old  knives,  buttons,  peculiar  pebbles, 
colored  strings,  parts  of  a  watch  or  clock,  odd  sticks,  bits  of  chew- 
ing gum,  ends  of  pencils,  broken  buckles,  speckled  beans,  colored 
papers,  bits  of  fur,  and  other  things  that  he  treasures?  Because 
in  a  most  potential  way  they  are  nutrition  to  his  yearning  soul. 
One  will  never  fathom  the  real  depths  of  the  concrete  as  teaching 
data  until  he  can  appreciate  why  the  son  of  a  President  of  the 

204 


Lesson  8  205 

United  States  gladly  traded  rare  exotic  flowers  from  the  White 
House  conservatory  for  discarded  paper  caps  of  milk  bottles. 

67.  The  trouble  we  all  experience  is  to  discover  just  what  con- 
crete thing  the  general  statement  figures  in  the  soul  of  the  child. 
When  our  pupils  read 

"  Up  from  the  meadows  rich  with  corn, 
Clear  in  the  cool  September  morn," 

what  does  it  mean  to  them?  Instance  a  poor  child  whose  life 
is  pent  within  the  narrow  walls  of  a  city  tenement,  one  who  has 
never  seen  the  park,  much  less  the  great,  grand  farms  of  the 
country;  what  can  even  this  simple  language  of  Whittier's  figure 
to  that  child?  Do  you  not  see  that  first  of  all  the  needed  thing 
in  teaching  is  to  bring  new  thoughts  into  terms  of  old  thoughts, 
to  interpret  the  new  by  the  old,  to  translate  all  abstract  truth 
into  terms  of  conduct  and  into  terms  of  real  concrete  experience. 
If  then  the  pupil's  personal  experience  is  meager,  how  very  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  teach  him,  and  how  very  important  to  supply  the 
concrete  data  necessary  to  make  meaningful  our  teaching. 

68.  Tools  for  the  Teacher. — The  agencies  at  the  teacher's 
disposal  are  objects,  pictures,  drawing,  and  stories.  These 
demand  extended  study.  Do  you  have  a  collection  of  objects 
and  of  pictures  for  teaching  purposes?  These  are  your  tools. 
Be  sure  you  carry  a  goodly  store  of  them.  Select  them  with  care 
and  use  them  with  caution.  If  you  cannot  draw  beautiful  pic- 
tures, do  not  worry.  But  be  sure  you  can,  with  a  few  strokes  of 
the  crayon,  make  concrete  the  thought  you  wish  to  emphasize. 
This  power  is  of  immeasurable  value  and  the  training  of  every 
teacher  should  include  lessons  in  simple  graphic  illustration. 

69.  Stories. — But  above  all,  else,  as  equipment  to  teach,  can 
you  tell  a  story?  The  story  is  an  abstract  truth  dressed  in 
concrete  garments.  When  Jesus  was  asked  to  define  the  word 
neighbor  he  might  have  answered  in  some  such  definition  as  may 
be  found  in  any  dictionary.  He  was  too  wise  a  teacher  to  do 
that.  He  immediately  translated  the  meaning  of  neighbor  into 
the  concrete  story  of  the  good  Samaritan  and  gave  us  an  example 
of  the  loftiest  teaching  power  the  world  has  ever  known.  Every 
parable  is  an  example  of  great  skill  in  teaching  the  abstract  by 


2o6  The  Teacher 

means  of  the  concrete.  Go  over  the  series  and  note  in  how  many 
ways  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  concreted  into  terms  of  the 
common  experience  of  the  people  Jesus  taught. 

70.  A  good  story,  well  told,  at  once  attracts  marked  atten- 
tion. The  pupil  unconsciously  turns  to  a  concrete  incident  and 
from  that  obtains  the  richest  nutrition  for  his  spirit.  But  the 
story  must  be  well  told.  It  must  contain  abundant  elements 
of  specific  detail  and  must  be  packed  with  incidents  that  thrill 
with  action.  The  old  Mother  Goose  rhymes  are  excellent 
examples  of  stories  full  of  action,  and,  as  a  result,  of  interest.  The 
child  personifies  all  things,  that  he  may  find  in  them  the  elements 
of  life,  of  action,  of  things  in  the  process  of  doing.  Spend  an 
hour  with  a  boy  who  is  riding  a  stick  that  is  to  him  a  horse,  or 
with  a  girl  who  is  playing  with  a  rag-doll,  and  learn  the  method 
and  value  of  action  in  the  concrete  materials  of  instruction. 

71.  Rhyme  and  Song. — If  to  the  story  is  added  the  attractive 
appeal  of  rhythm,  rhyme,  and  song  the  concrete  materials  of 
teaching  become  almost  ideal.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  conclude  a 
well-told  story  with  a  short,  simple  poem  and  a  song,  both  of 
which  should  relate  to  the  same  truth  the  story  sets  forth  in  the 
concrete.  Through  story,  rhyme,  and  song  the  growing  soul 
climbs  most  surely  and  securely  to  the  lofty  and  illuminating 
vistas  of  God's  universal  laws.  Maxims,  precepts,  proverbs, 
mottoes,  laws,  become  meaningful  and  potential  only  when  the 
soul  moulds  these  mass  motives  of  guidance  from  the  plastic  and 
suggestive  data  of  a  rich  and  varied  contact  with  concrete  experi- 
ences and  things.  "I  am  the  vine,"  "I  am  the  good  shepherd,"  "  I 
am  the  way,"  contain  the  very  essence  of  all  great  method  in  the 
art  of  building  a  soul  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  of  service. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Give  an  illustration  of  a  "concrete  notion"? 

2.  What  may  be  learned  by  the  study  of  a  boy's  pocket? 

3.  By  what  means  should  we  bring  new  thoughts  to  the  puoil  ? 

4.  What  are  four  tools  at  the  teacher's  disposal? 

5.  What  constitutes  a  "good  story"? 

6.  What  appeal  may  well  be  added  to  the  story? 


Lesson  9 
What  Instruction,  Drill,  and  Examination  Can  Do 

72.  The  two  processes  at  work  in  every  good  recitation  are 
teaching  and  learning.  The  first  of  these  processes  is  the  work 
of  the  teacher;  the  latter  is  the  work  of  the  pupil.  Learning 
includes  study  proper  and  practise  in  the  use  of  knowledge 
learned.  The  learning  process  should,  of  course,  be  directed  by 
the  teacher. 

73.  Teaching,  the  work  of  the  teacher,  includes  three  dis- 
tinct elements  or  parts:  instruction,  drill,  examination.  These 
may  at  times  be  supplemented  by  a  fourth  teaching  process  of 
considerable  importance,  review.  Every  good  class  exercise  is 
made  up  of  these  elements.  In  certain  cases  the  amount  of  time 
devoted  to  one  or  to  the  other  of  these  varies  greatly.  No  fixed 
law  can  be  set.  The  judgment  of  the  teacher,  the  condition  of 
the  class,  the  immediate  purpose  of  the  particular  lesson,  com- 
bine to  make  the  relative  value  of  these  elements  vary  from  one 
recitation  to  another.  We  can,  however,  study  the  purpose 
or  function  of  each  and  arrive  at  some  fairly  adequate  guidance. 

74.  Instruction  is  the  process  through  which  the  teacher 
aims  to  assist  the  pupil  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  or  power, 
or  both.  It  may  take  the  form  of  written  or  of  oral  instruction. 
Written  instruction  has  to  do  with  the  mastery  of  the  printed 
page.  To  know  how  to  obtain  knowledge  from  the  printed  page 
is  an  important  end  of  instruction.  "  Understandest  thou  what 
thou  readest?"  is  a  question  that  goes  to  the  heart  of  good  written 
instruction.  Oral  instruction  is  the  act  of  the  living  teacher 
in  stimulating  the  pupil  to  know.  It  has  three  phases — objective, 
indirect,  and  direct. 

75.  Objective  instruction  is  the  presentation  to  the  eye  or 
other  sense  of  the  pupil,  by  means  of  objects  or  pictures,  some 
concrete  thing  which  will  aid  the  pupil  to  gain  clear  knowledge. 
We  have  already  considered  the  value  of  this  form  of  concrete 
instruction. 

76.  Indirect  instruction  is  the  process  of  recalling,  through 

207 


2o8  The  Teacher 

memory,  past  objective  experiences  and  causing  the  mind  to 
discern  their  likeness  or  unlikeness,  their  relations  one  to  another, 
and  to  express  a  conclusion  that  the  teacher  does  not  first 
announce.  In  indirect  instruction  the  learner  is  led  to  express 
his  own  past  knowledge  and,  by  comparing  one  fact  with  another, 
to  arrive  for  himself  at  new  knowledge.  This  is  a  most  difficult 
but  a  most  valuable  type  of  instruction.  It  makes  the  pupil ' 
an  explorer  after  truth  and  it  should  result  in  making  him  a 
discoverer  of  truth.  The  joy  of  original  discovery  possesses  the 
soul  of  the  successful  pupil,  who  is  taught  by  this  indirect  or 
suggestion  method  of  instruction. 

77.  Direct  instruction  is  the  communication  of  facts  by  the 
teacher  through  oral  language  to  the  pupil.  The  pupil  in  this 
type  of  learning  follows  the  statements  of  the  teacher  and  sees 
for  himself  the  truth  of  the  facts  presented  and  the  conclusion 
reached.  The  danger  of  direct  teaching  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
teacher  may  fail  to  arouse  in  the  pupil  a  current  of  thought  cor- 
responding to  his  own.  In  this  case  there  is  no  resulting  knowl- 
edge in  the  soul  of  the  learner;  and,  instead,  there  is  likely  to  be 
confusion  or  disorder  in  the  class.  This  is  a  common  phenomenon 
in  classes  that  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  poor  teachers.  The 
law  underlying  all  oral  teaching  is  as  follows:  Do  not  tell  the 
pupil  directly  what  he  may  be  reasonably  expected  to  observe  or 
discern  for  himself. 

78.  Drill  is  the  process  through  which  the  teacher  aims  to 
assist  the  pupil  in  the  acquisition  of  power  and  skill.  The  new 
truth,  when  first  apprehended  by  the  pupil,  must  be  made  so 
familiar  to  the  learner  that  he  can  promptly  and  easily  recall 
the  new  truth  or  knowledge.  Drill  is  the  agency  that  accom- 
plishes this  result.  Note  how  often  a  boy  or  girl  repeats  some 
new  sentence  or  word  or  game  in  order  to  fix  its  easy  recall. 
Many  teachers  think  repetition  deadens  interest.  But  without 
repetition  Comenius  rightly  declares  we  do  not  know  solidly. 
Repetition  is  nature's  way  of  developing  strength.  It  is  of  prime 
importance  that  every  new  truth  be  drilled  until  it  is  as  familiar 
to  the  learner  as  old  knowledge.  Then  it  becomes  easy  of  recall 
and  ready  for  use.  The  wise  teacher  will  avoid  the  abuse  of  the 
drill  by  so  varying  the  exercise  as  to  secure  a  maximum  of 


Lesson  9  209 


interest,  for  interest  is  the  basis  of  pleasure,  and  the  soul  does 
not  easily  retain  knowledge  that  is  not  pleasurable. 

79.  Examination  is  the  process  through  which  the  teacher 
aims  to  test  the  result  of  instruction  and  learning.  Its  value  is 
twofold:  it  adds  to  the  learner's  knowledge  by  the  preparation 
he  makes  for  the  examination,  and  it  gives  the  teacher  a  means 
of  measuring  the  results  obtained  through  instruction  and  drill. 
If  the  examination  tests  only  knowledge  gained  by  direct  teach- 
ing, it  is  of  little  value.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  questions  are  so 
phrased  as  to  cause  the  pupil  to  think  his  way  out  of  things 
known  into  some  newer  and  higher  order  of  knowledge,  it  is  a 
valuable  exercise.  Usually  before  examinations  are  given  the 
teacher  arid  pupils  join  in  a  review. 

80.  The  review  is  an  invaluable  teaching  agency  when  it 
results  in  such  a  reorganization  of  unrelated  or  partly  related 
facts  of  knowledge  as  to  give  the  pupil  a  clearer  and  surer  grasp 
upon  the  relative  value  of  the  facts  previously  acquired.  A 
drill  fixes  a  given  fact  more  securely  or  solidly  in  the  soul;  a 
review  organizes  these  drilled  facts  into  new  systems  and  wider 
classifications.  It  is  seeing  the  old  once  more,  but  seeing  it  from 
a  new  point  of  vantage;  just  as  a  man  climbing  a  tower  with 
windows  at  stated  points  sees  in  each  case  all  that  he  saw  before, 
but  sees  it  in  a  new  setting,  sees  it  as  part  of  a  larger  scene,  and 
sees  it  finally  as  a  part  of  a  mighty  whole.  Wisely  conducted, 
the  review  establishes  proportion  in  the  knowledge  set  in  the 
soul  and  leads  finally  and  directly  to  the  fact  that  all  truth  is  at 
last  one  truth;  all  life  at  last  one  life;  all  parts  at  last  one  great 
infinite  unity,  whose  name  is  God. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  two  processes  are  at  work  in  every  good  recitation? 

2.  What  four  elements  does  teaching  include? 

3.  What  are  the  three  phases  of  oral  instruction? 

4.  Define  each  of  these  three  phases. 

5.  What  law  underlies  all  oral  teaching? 

6.  What  is  meant  by  drill? 

7.  Define  examination.     What  is  its  twofold  value? 

8.  When  is  a  review  valuable? 
14 


Lesson  lo 

What  Will-training  Leads  To 

81.  The  soul  by  thinking,  feeling,  and  willing  completes 
its  round  of  activities.  It  is  not  a  three-parted  power,  each  part 
doing  one  and  only  one  of  these  things;  but  it  is  a  single  power, 
capable  of  doing  in  turn  all  these  things.  The  soul  thinking  is 
at  work  in  an  intellectual  process.  The  soul  feeling  is  at  work 
in  an  emotional  process.  The  soul  willing  is  at  work  in  a  voli- 
tional process.  These  three  processes  are  so  inter-related  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  separate  them  at  any  given  time,  and  yet  a  bit 
of  reflection  upon  how  the  soul  does  operate  will  make  fairly 
clear  these  distinct  processes.  A  child  that  has  not  been  made 
unnatural  by  arbitrary  training  always  follows  its  emotions  and 
its  thoughts  by  action.  The  inference  from  this  is  significant. 
The  soul  untrammeled  always  translates  thought  and  feeling 
into  action.  This  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  all  intellec- 
tual and  emotional  products  are  under  the  direction  of  the  wHl. 
The  will  is  the  power  of  the  soul  that  resolves  to  do,  thai  causes 
us  to  act.  The  will  uses  thought  and  feeling  in  much  the  same 
way  that  a  sailor  uses  compass  and  rudder  to  guide  a  vessel  in 
the  right  course. 

82.  The  First  Step,  Obedience.— At  the  beginning  the  feeling 
and  thought  elements  are  so  numerous  and  so  complex  that  the 
will  is  unable  rightly  to  organize  all  this  data  into  guidance. 
Hence  the  child  must  be  guided  by  a  will  that  has,  through 
experience,  acquired  this  power.  The  will  of  the  parent  and  of 
the  teacher  is  at  the  outset  the  effective  guide,  and  the  one 
necessity  for  the  welfare  of  the  child  is  obedience.  Gradually 
the  child  finds  his  way  through  the  maze  of  things  his  intellect 
and  his  sensibilities  have  retained,  and  then  he  becomes  self- 
directive.  His  own  will  has  asserted  itself.  He  is  now  able  and 
should  be  free  to  direct  his  own  actions.  When  he  does  this  his 
difficulties  will  not  disappear.  At  times,  he  will  find  his  will  at 
a  loss  to  give  the  guidance  he  knows  he  should  have.  Then,  by 
all  means,  it  is  important  that  he  should  willingly  surrender  his 
finite  will  to  the  infinite  will,  his  imperfect  guidance  to  the 

2IO 


Lesson  lo  211 

perfect  guidance;  and  lie  shall  thus  find  his  complete  freedom 
of  action  in  full  surrender  to  the  will  of  Almighty  God. 

83.  In  this  first  stage,  when  parent  and  teacher  are  motive 
and  will  to  him,  the  child  needs  to  be  guided  with  the  utmost 
care.  There  must  be  reasonableness  in  the  guidance.  Caprice, 
anger,  impatience,  arbitrariness,  and  severity  are  the  methods 
of  weaklings  and  cowards.  From  all  such  the  child  should  be 
freed.  Consistency,  kindness,  patience,  reasonableness,  and 
moderation  are  the  methods  of  strong,  successful  teachers.  If 
you  utter  a  command,  see  to  it  that  the  child  obeys.  Nothing 
is  quite  so  deadly  in  the  realm  of  the  will  as  the  fact  that  the 
pupil  knows  that  his  teacher  threatens,  commands,  talks — but 
never  acts.  If  you  really  do  not  intend  to  enforce  obedience,  do 
not  utter  the  command.  If  you  do  not  intend  to  compel  obe- 
dience, do  not  assume  the  role  of  guide  and  teacher.  How  many 
children  come  into  caprice  instead  of  regulated  conduct  because 
they  have  from  infancy  lived  in  a  realm  of  caprice,  of  confusion, 
and  of  disorder ;  a  realm  that  moved  by  no  law  and  hence  set  no 
law  of  guidance  in  the  soul  of  the  child. 

84.  The  Aim  of  Teaching  is  Right  Living. — We  err  when  we 
assume  that  intellectual  endeavor  wUl  inevitably  lead  to  right 
conduct.  Nothing  is  more  obvious  than  the  fact  that  our  con- 
duct is  far  below  the  plane  of  our  thought.  We  know  vastly 
better  than  we  do  the  things  that  are  right  and  true.  Nor  do  we 
quite  understand  the  function  of  good  teaching  if  we  neglect  to 
cultivate  the  feeling  powers  of  the  soul.  It  is  my  conviction  that 
we  act  more  nearly  in  harmony  with  our  feelings  than  our  thoughts. 
If,  then,  conduct,  right  action,  or  character  is  the  end  of  all  true 
teaching;  if,  as  Jesus  taught,  it  is  not  what  we  know,  nor  yet  what 
we  feel,  but  what  we  do,  that  makes  life  worth  while,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  we  should  so  train  the  feeling  life  as 
well  as  the  thought  life  as  to  prepossess  the  soul  to  right  conduct. 
But  the  feelings  are  intensely  concrete.  Whence  arises  again 
the  value  of  concrete  teaching  as  a  method  in  will  training. 

85.  Self-control. — Aim  to  bring  the  pupil  speedily  into  the 
exercise  of  his  own  will,  into  self-regulated  conduct.  Nothing 
will  so  surely  negative  good  instruction  as  to  deny  to  the  pupil 
the  freedom  to  exercise  his  own  will  as  soon  as  that  will  has 


212  The  Teacher 

become  sufficiehtly  powerful  and  reasonable  to  be  an  adequate 
agency  to  direct  the  pupil's  conduct.  Many  teachers  and  par- 
ents insist  upon  guiding  the  pupil  long  after  he  is  capable  of  self- 
direction.  Here,  of  course,  is  the  critical  moment  in  the  pupil's 
life,  and  only  the  most  careful  study  of  the  pupil  and  constant 
prayer  for  Divine  assistance  will  insure  the  wisest  procedure. 
When  a  boy  has  acquired  self-control  it  is  always  a  mistake  to 
treat  him  as  you  would  a  small  child.  His  self-respect  is 
involved  in  his  desire  to  do  things  in  the  way  his  own  will 
determines.  To  ignore  this  fact  is  to  predispose  the  boy  to 
rebellion  against  his  teacher;  and  perhaps  against  all  consti- 
tuted authority — human  and  divine. 

86.  Teach  What  to  do,  Rather  than  What  not  to  do.— Above 
all,  do  not  build  a  negative  code  in  the  soul  of  a  child.  It  is  not 
what  he  is  restrained  from  doing,  but  what  he  is  constantly 
encouraged  to  do  that  makes  for  right  will  training.  The  great 
power  of  Jesus  as  a  teacher  lies  in  his  steadfast  ability  to  teach 
the  world  what  to  do,  how  to  act,  right  conduct  in  the  midst  of 
complex  conditions.  A  negative  code  stops  all  endeavor,  a 
positive  code  sets  the  soul  aglow  with  the  consciousness  of  things 
done,  of  processes  initiated  and  completed,  of  struggles  with 
wrong  successfully  ended,  of  progress  from  weakness  to  strength, 
from  human  error  to  Divine  truth. 

87.  The  end  of  all  endeavor  is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  the 
goal  of  all  teaching  is  to  equip  a  human  soul  to  live  in  joyous 
accord  with  the  infinite  wisdom.  "  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and 
the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 

Test  Questions 

1.  In  what  three  ways  does  the  soul  round  out  its  activities? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  the  will? 

3.  What  should  be  the  effective  guide  for  the  child  at  first? 

4.  Name  five  elements  that  characterize  the  methods  of  strong 
teachers. 

5.  Why  are  some  children  capricious  rather  than  obedient? 

6.  What  is  the  aim  of  teaching? 

7.  What  mistake  will  most  surely  negative  good  instruction? 

8.  What  is  Jesus'  great  power  as  a  teacher? 

9.  What  is  the  goal  of  all  teaching? 


Lesson 


lO 


213 


Text  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  6  to  10 

1.  What  is  meant  by  a  law  of  the  soul? 

2.  What  is  the  first  law  as  to  the  subject  matter  of  teaching? 

3.  What  is  the  earliest  power  that  becomes  educationally 
active? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  the  inductive  method? 

5.  Why  is  mere  telling  not  teaching? 

6.  What  is  the  gain,  and  what  the  danger,  in  using  illustra- 
tions? 

7.  Illustrate  what  is  meant  by  a  concrete  notion. 

8.  What  are  four  tools  at  the  teacher's  disposal? 

9.  What  constitutes  a  good  story? 

10.  What  two  processes  are  at  work  in  every  good  recitation? 

11.  What  are  the  three  phases  of  oral  instruction? 

12.  When  is  a  review  valuable? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  the  will? 

14.  Name  five  elements  that  characterize  good  teaching? 

15.  What  is  Jesus'  great  power  as  a  teacher? 

NoTE.—This  entire  subject  has  been  more  fully  discussed  by 
Dr.  Brumbaugh  in  his  book  "The  Making  of  a  Teacher." 


THE  SCHOOL 


MARION    LAWRANCE 

Lesson  Page 

1.  The  Sunday-school 217 

2.  The  Sunday-school  Equipped 222 

3.  The  Sunday-school  Organized 226 

4.  The  Sunday-school  Organized  (concluded) 230 

5.  The  Sunday-school  in  Session 234 

6.  The  Sunday-school  Teacher 238 

7.  The  Workers'  Meeting 242 

8.  Sunday-school  Finance 246 

9.  The  Sunday-school  and  Missions 249 

10.  Organized  Adult  Classes 253 


Teaching  Hints 

Leaders  of  classes,  and  individuals 
pursuing  thiese  studies  apart  from 
classes,  are  urged  to  read  the  chap- 
ter entitled  "Teaching  Hints,"  on 
page  257,  before  beginning  this  section 


Lesson  i 
The  Sunday-school 

1.  The  Sunday-school  is  the  Bible-studying  and  teaching 
service  of  the  church.  It  is  a  church  service.  All  the  members 
of  the  church  should  be  connected  with  it.  It  should  be  under 
the  care  and  control  of  the  church.  Its  purpose  is  to  present 
the  Word  of  God,  by  the  hand  of  competent  living  teachers,  to 
every  man,  woman  and  child,  for  the  purpose  of  leading  them  to 
Christ,  developing  their  Christian  characters,  and  training  them 
for  service. 

2.  The  Earliest  Schools.* — Schools  for  the  study  of  God's 
Word  seem  to  have  existed  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
Abraham.  In  Moses'  day,  schools  were  maintained  for  the 
religious  training  of  the  young.  These  schools  were  numerous 
also  in  Ezra's  time.  Jesus  no  doubt  attended  such  a  school 
in  his  boyhood  days.  The  schools  of  his  time  resembled  the 
modern  Sunday-school  in  some  of  their  methods.  There  were 
elementary  schools  for  children,  and  senior  schools  for  both 
children  and  adults.  These  latter  schools  were  connected  with 
the  synagogue.  It  was  through  these  schools,  chiefly,  that  the 
Christian  church  was  extended  and  built  up. 

3.  The  Raikes  Movement.* — The  first  seventeen  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era  witnessed,  for  the  most  part,  a  general 
decline  in  the  church  and  in  Christian  activity.  During  all  this 
period,  the  church's  life  increased  or  waned  in  proportion  as  it 
attended  to  or  neglected  the  religious  instruction  of  the  young. 
The  seventeenth  century,  and  much  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury were  dark  days  for  the  church.  It  was  toward  the  close 
of  this  period  that  God  saw  fit  to  connect  the  name  of  Robert 
Raikes  with  the  Sunday-school  movement  of  the  world.  While 
he  was  probably  not  the  founder  of  the  first  Sunday-school,  his 
name  is  nevertheless  inseparably  connected  with  the  beginnings 

♦The  statements  in  these  paragraphs  are  taken  in  substance  from  "Yale  Lec- 
tures ON  THE  Sunday  School"  (Trumbull). 

217 


2i8  The  School 

of  the  modern  Sunday-school.  In  the  city  of  Gloucester, 
England,  July,  1780,  this  man — the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Gloucester  Journal — started  his  first  Sunday-school,  in  the 
kitchen  of  a  dwelling-house.  This  room  was  eleven  feet  long, 
eight  feet  wide,  six  and  a  half  feet  high.  "The  children  were 
to  come  soon  after  ten  in  the  morning  and  stay  till  twelve. 
They  were  to  go  home  and  stay  till  one,  and  after  reading  a 
lesson,  they  were  to  be  conducted  to  church.  After  church, 
they  were  to  be  employed  in  repeating  the  catechism  till  half 
past  five,  and  then  to  be  dismissed  with  an  injunction  to  go 
home  without  making  a  noise;  and  by  no  means  to  play  in 
the  street."  Four  women  were  employed  as  teachers  in  this 
school,  at  a  shilling  a  day.  The  early  Raikes  schools  were  not 
connected  with  the  church  in  any  way. 

4.  Sunday-school  Extension. — Sunday-schools  soon  became 
very  popular,  and  spread  over  Great  Britain  and  into  Europe. 
Sunday-schools  are  knoM'n  to  have  existed  in  the  United  States 
as  early  as  1786,  and  probably  much  earlier  than  that  (even 
in  1674).  They  found  congenial  soil  in  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
and  multiplied  rapidly.  There  are  now  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million  Sunday-schools  in  the  world,  enrolling  more  than 
twenty-five  millions  of  people.  More  than  one-half  of  this  vast 
army  is  in  North  America. 

5.  The  Sunday  School  Union  of  London. — This  organization 
was  effected  in  1803  in  Surrey  Chapel,  London,  and  is  the  oldest 
expression  of  organized  Sunday-school  work.  It  is  local  only 
in  name.  Its  auxiliaries  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  Continental  Europe  and  the  various  depen- 
dencies of  Great  Britain.  It  holds  valuable  properties  in  London, 
conducts  an  extensive  printing  establishment,  and  maintains 
a  large  corps  of  workers  as  secretaries,  colporteurs,  etc.,  not  only 
in  Great  Britain  but  on  the  Continent,  in  India  and  elsewhere. 

6.  The  American  Sunday  School  Union. — The  earliest 
Sunday-school  organizations  in  North  America  were  a  Sunday 
School  Union  in  New  York  City  in  18 16,  another  in  Boston  the 
same  year,  and  still  another  in  Philadelphia  in  181 7.  These  were 
combined  in  1824  into  a  national  society  known  as  The  American 
Sunday  School  Union.     This  society,  through  its  large  corps  of 


Lesson  i  219 

missionaries,  plants  new  Sunday-schools,  especially  on  the 
frontier.  It  conducts  a  large  publishing  establishment  at  its 
headquarters  in  Philadelphia,  and  has  done  and  is  doing  a 
great  work. 

7.  The  National  Sunday  School  Convention. — The  first 
national  interdenominational  convention  in  the  United 
States  was  held  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1832.  Delegates 
were  present  from  fourteen  states  and  four  territories.  A  second 
convention  was  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  following 
year,  1833.  Not  until  1859  was  the  third  convention  held,  and 
this  one  also  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  In  1869,  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  may  be  said  to  have  begun  the  present  series  of  great 
conventions  in  our  country,  for  they  have  been  held  triennially 
from  that  time  until  the  present.  The  fourth  and  last  strictly 
national  convention  was  held  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis  in  1872, 
Here  the  International  System  of  Uniform  Lessons  had  its 
birth.  The  International  Lessons  went  into  use  January,  1873. 
They  are  selected  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Inter- 
national Convention,  co-operating  with  a  similar  committee 
appointed  by  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  London.  It  was 
decided  that  tne  next  convention  should  be  international  in 
character,  and  include  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

8.  International  Sunday  School  Movement. — International 
conventions  have  been  held  triennially  since  1875 

The  International  Sunday  School  Association  administers  its 
affairs  through  an  Executive  Committee  of  nearly  one  hundred 
men,  representing  every  state,  province,  territory  and  country 
in  and  belonging  to  North  America.  In  its  main  Association, 
and  through  its  auxiliaries,  it  employs  a  large  number  of  Sunday- 
school  workers  in  its  various  departments.  It  is  supported  by 
the  voluntary  offerings  of  Sunday-schools  and  individuals. 
Under  its  auspices  are  held  annually  about  sixteen  thousand 
Sunday-school  conventions,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  give 
inf(jrmation,  stimulation,  and  education  along  all  lines  of  Sunday- 
school  work. 

9.  Auxiliary  Associations. — The  various  states,  provinces, 
territories  and  countries  of  North  America  maintain  associations 
auxiliary  to  the  International  Sunday  School  Association.     The 


220  The  School 

oldest  existing  organization  is  that  of  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
which  has  been  in  continual  operation  since  1836.  The  states 
and  provinces,  for  the  most  part,  maintain  annual  conventions. 
Auxiliary  to  these  auxiliaries  are  the  associations  of  the  counties 
or  next  smaller  political  divisions.  In  the  thickly  settled  por- 
tions of  the  country,  still  smaller  organizations  are  effected  in 
the  townships  and  cities. 

10.  The  World's  Sunday  School  Association.— The  First 
World's  Sunday  School  Convention  was  held  in  the  city  of 
London,  England,  in  1889,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  delegates 
attending  from  North  America.  The  Second  World's  Conven- 
tion was  held  in  connection  with  the  Seventh  International 
Convention  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1893.  The  Third  World's 
Convention  was  held  again  in  London,  in  1898.  Three  hundred 
delegates  were  present  from  North  America.  The  Fourth 
World's  Convention  was  held  in  Jerusalem,  Palestine,  in  1904. 
Over  eight  hundred  delegates  attended  from  North  America, 
and  nearly  five  hundred  from  Great  Britain,  traveling  in  char- 
tered steamships.  The  World's  Fifth  Sunday  School  Convention 
was  held  in  the  city  of  Rome,  Italy,  in  1907,  with  over  eleven 
hundred  delegates.  And  there  the  World's  Sunday  School 
Association  was  organized,  to  hold  conventions,  gather  sta- 
tistics, and  to  co-operate  with  other  organizations  in  increasing 
the  efficiency  of  Sunday-schools  throughout  the  world.  The 
World's  Sixth  Sunday  School  Convention  is  to  be  held  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  19 10. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  Sunday-school? 

2.  Give  instances  of  the  earliest  schools  for  the  study  of  God's 
Word. 

3.  Describe  what  is  known  as  the  Raikes  movement. 

4.  How  early  are  Sunday-schools  known  to  have  existed  on 
our  continent? 

5.  How  many  Sunday-schools  in  the  world  to-day? 

6.  What  proportion  of  these  are  in  America? 

7.  What  is  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  London? 


Lesson 


221 


8.  What  is  the  American  Sunday  School  Union? 

9.  Where  and  when  were  the  four  National  Sunday-school 
Conventions  held? 

ID.  When  and  where  did  the  International  Lessons  have  their 
origin?     When  put  into  use? 

11.  How  many  International  Conventions  have  been  held? 

12.  By  whom  are  the  International  Lessons  selected? 

13.  What  is  the  work  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association? 

14.  Describe  its  system  of  Auxiliary  Associations. 

15.  What  is  the  World's  Sunday  School  Association? 


Lesson  2 


The  Sunday-school  Equipped 

11.  Buildings. — A  discussion  of  Sunday-school  buildings 
properly  comes  under  the  head  of  equipment,  but  as  that  is  a 
large  topic  by  itself,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  consider  it  here  but 
to  confine  ourselves  to  those  features  of  equipment  which  may 
be  used  in  any  building.  The  buildings  should  be  made  with  the 
needs  and  conveniences  of  the  Sunday-school  in  mind.  The 
department  rooms  and  class  rooms  are  but  expressions  of  this 
idea.  The  school  deserves  as  good  a  room  as  the  preaching 
service,  and  one  as  thoroughly  adapted  to  its  uses.  Depart- 
ment rooms  and  class  rooms  can  often  be  temporarily  arranged 
by  the  use  of  curtains  or  screens,  in  a  building  where  no  regular 
partitions  have  been  provided. 

12.  Seating. — Chairs  are  better  than  pews.  They  should  be 
comfortable,  and  adapted  to  the  size  of  the  pupils  who  are  to 
use  them.  No  one  can  sit  quietly  very  long  unless  his  feet  can 
rest  squarely  on  the  floor.  If  the  room  is  not  carpeted,  the 
chair  legs  should  have  rubber  tips. 

13.  Tables." — Such  of  the  officers  as  need  to  use  desks  or 
tables  should  have  tables  of  their  own,  so  that  all  of  their  books, 
blanks,  and  supplies  may  be  kept  in  proper  order.  Class  tables 
are  very  desirable.  They  need  not  be  very  large.  Each  table 
should  have  a  drawer  or  box  in  it  for  the  song-books  and  other 
property  of  the  class.  This  economizes  time  and  saves  confusion, 
as  nothing  will  need  to  be  distributed. 

14.  Class  Boxes. — Where  it  is  impossible  to  use  class  tables, 
a  class  box  is  next  in  value.  It  should  contain  the  song-books 
and  everything  else  belonging  to  the  class,  and  should  be  kept 
in  a  given  place  where  some  member  of  the  class  can  secure  it 
before  the  school,  and  replace  it  after  the  school  is  closed. 

15.  Blackboards. — It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the 
value  of  blackboards  in  Sunday-school  work  when  rightly  used. 
There  ought    to  be  one   in  the  main   school,    and  one  in  every 

222 


Lesson  2  223 

department  room.  It  would  be  well,  also,  if  there  were  a  small 
blackboard  in  every  class  room.  It  can  be  used  for  so  many- 
purposes,  such  as  reviewing  the  lesson,  announcing  hymns  or 
displaying  reports.  The  revolving  blackboard  is  the  best  for 
general  use,  and  the  most  ornamental.  Square  crayons  of  half 
an  inch,  or  one  inch,  in  size  are  better  than  the  ordinary  round 
school  crayon.  Simple  work  is  better  than  elaborate  work. 
Anybody  can  use  a  blackboard  to  advantage,  whether  he  can 
draw  or  not. 

16.  Maps. — If  a  school  can  have  but  one  map,  let  it  be  the 
map  of  Palestine.  Then  add  the  following  maps,  in  the  order 
named:  Bible  Lands;  a  second  map  of  Palestine, — one  for  Old 
Testament  and  one  for  New  Testament;  Paul's  missionary 
journeys;  a  missionary  map  of  the  world;  a  missionary  map  of 
the  denomination.  A  sand  map  is  good  for  use  in  the  later 
elementary  grades,  but  should  not  wholly  displace  the  wall  map. 

17.  Charts. — Many  helpful  charts  are  now  prepared  for 
Sunday-school  use;  charts  of  the  life  of  Christ,  charts  for  mis- 
sionary purposes  and  temperance  teaching,  charts  with  choice 
passages  of  Scripture  and  hymns. 

18.  Libraries. — If  possible,  have  two  libraries,  one  for 
teachers,  one  for  scholars.  A  teachers'  library  should  contain 
Bible-study  helps  and  books  for  Sunday-school  workers,  which 
treat  of  special  phases  of  Sunday-school  work.  The  scholars' 
library  should  be  properly  classified  so  that  the  members  of  all  de- 
partments will  feel  an  equal  interest  in  it. 

19.  Missionary  Curios. — Material  aid  in  creating  missionary 
interest  will  be  secured  by  showing  woods,  stones,  plants,  flowers, 
clothing,  and  birds  from  the  various  foreign  fields,  and  by  the 
use  of  pictures  and  models  of  their  buildings,  which  reveal  the 
customs  of  the  lands  under  consideration.  These  things  are 
abundant,   and   are  comparatively  inexpensive. 

20.  Flags  and  Banners. — Every  school  should  have  the 
flag  of  the  nation  displayed  at  each  session.  Many  schools  use 
the  Christian  flag,  also,  made  of  white  silk  with  a  blue  field  and 
red  cross.  The  "Conquest  Flag"  is  also  popular.  Banners  for 
Star  Classes,  Excelsior  Classes,  Honor  Classes,  etc.,  are  desirable 
if  properly  used.     Considerable  school  spirit  may  be  cultivated 


224  The  School 

by  having  school  colors  embodied  in  a  pennant,  which  is  always 
displayed  when  the  school  is  in  session. 

21.  Objects. — Many  objects  are  now  prepared  that  are  valu- 
able in  Sunday-school  work,  such  as  building  blocks,  models 
of  the  Tabernacle,  globes,   and  birthday  banks. 

22.  Bibles  and  Music  Books. — Every  member  of  the  school 
who  is  old  enough  to  read  should  bring  his  own  Bible.  Never- 
theless, it  is  well  to  have  a  supply  of  school  Bibles,  as  they 
should  be  used  in  the  school  instead  of  lesson  helps.  Select  a 
good  music  book,  and  get  plenty  of  copies.  If  every  member 
has  a  book,  the  singing  and  the  order  will  be  better.  Hymn 
banners  and  song  rolls  are  useful  adjuncts. 

23.  Pictures. — Choice  pictures  are  not  only  beautiful,  bUi 
valuable  in  many  ways.  The  walls  of  the  Sunday-school  room 
and  especially  of  the  elementary  departments,  should  be  wei 
decorated  with  choice  inexpensive  pictures,  illustrating  varior 
Bible  scenes;  there  may  also  be  miscellaneous  pictures  of  a 
equally  elevating  and  refining  character. 

24.  Stereopticon. — Here  and  there  a  school  is  able  to  hav 
a  stereopticon  or  magic  lantern.     This  instrument  is  becoming 
more  popular  every  day.     If  properly  used,  a  stereopticon    is 
very  helpful  in  Sunday-school  work. 

25.  Lesson  Helps. — Supply  yourselves  with  plenty  of  lesson 
helps  for  officers,  teachers,  and  scholars.  Get  the  very  best,  but 
leave  them  at  home  on  Sunday. 

26.  Records  and  Printing. — Records  that  are  worth  keeping, 
at  all,  are  worth  keeping  well,  and  in  well-made  books.  All 
printing  should  be  well  done  or  not  done  at  all.  Business  houses 
are  judged  by  their  printing;  Sunday-schools  likewise.  Use 
good  paper,  occasionally  colored  inks,  and  let  all  the  printing 
be  neat  and  tasteful. 

27.  Bells. — Bells  are  useful,  if  not  used  too  much.  Do  not 
use  a  gong.  A  small  tea  bell  is  large  enough  for  an  ordinary 
room.  The  less  noise  the  superintendent  makes,  the  less  noise 
the  scholars  will  make. 

28.  Equipment  for  Hand-Work. — This  comparatively  new 
feature  of  Sunday-school  work  is  rapidly  gaining  favor.  It  is 
usually  the  most  successful  in  the  Junior  Department,  though  it 


Lesson  2  225 

is  used  extensively  in  both  the  Primary  and  Intermediate 
departments.  In  this  brief  paragraph,  we  can  but  mention 
some  of  the  phases  of  hand-work,  as  follows: — The  sand  map; 
the  pulp  map,  map  drawing,  written  lesson  outlines,  cutting 
and  pasting  pictures  in  blank  books  (with  or  without  writing), 
treating  of  the  current  lessons,  or  missionary  lands  and  themes; 
sewing;  modeling  Oriental  objects  in  clay,  pulp,  etc.,  etc. 

Test  Questions 

1.  When  there  are  no  separate  rooms  for  departments,  what 
may  be  done? 

2.  Name  some  of  the  requisites  in   the  most   satisfactory 
■seating. 

3.  Name  two  important  articles  of  class  promotion. 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  uses  of  a  blackboard? 

5.  State  what  maps  are  needed  in  the  school 

6.  What  kind  of  books  should  a  teacher's  library  contain? 

7.  Suggest  ways  of  creating  missionary  interest. 
-      8.  What  banners  and  objects  would  be  valuable? 

9.  Who  should  bring  Bibles  to  the  school? 

10.  What  is  the  proper  place  for  lesson  helps  on  Sunday? 

11.  What  are  some  of  the  things  needed  for  hand-work  in  the 
school? 


Lesson  3 
The  Sunday-school  Organized 

29.  A  Sunday-school  is  organized  for  work  when  (i)  the 
official  positions  are  filled;  (2)  there  are  teachers  for  all  the 
classes,  (3)  the  scholars  are  properly  enrolled  and  classified; 
(4)  and  it  has  intelligently  set  itself  thoroughly  to  accomplish, 
in  a  definite  way,  that  for  which  a  Sunday-school  stands. 

30.  Enrolment. — The  name  of  every  member  of  the  school 
should  be  enrolled  either  in  a  book  or  by  the  card  system.  The 
enrolment  should  show  not  only  name  and  address,  but  date  of 
entry,  birthday,  date  of  promotion  from  one  department  to 
another,  date  of  uniting  with  the  church,  date  and  cause  of 
leaving  the  school,  date  of  death,  if  necessary. 

31.  Classification  (or  Grading). — Classification  consists  in 
placing  the  scholars  in  such  departments  and  classes  as  will 
secure  for  them  and  for  the  whole  school  the  best  results  in  the 
best  manner.  This  will  require  that  the  scholars  be  advanced 
from  one  department  to  another  at  proper  intervals,  in  order 
to   meet   their   changing   needs. 

32.  Departments. — Every  Sunday-school  should  be  divided 
into  departments.  Three  or  four  departments  are  possible  in 
the  smallest  schools,  and  more  are  desirable  in  larger  ones.  It  is 
usually  possible  to  maintain  the  following  departments  in  an 
ordinary  school* 

(i)  The  Cradle  Roll,  for  children  too  small  to  attend  the 
regular  sessions.  These  are  usually  under  three  years 
of  age. 

(2)  The  Beginners,  for  children  from  three  to  six. 

(3)  The  Primary,  for  children  from  six  to  nine. 

(4)  The  Junior,  for  children  from  nine  to  eleven  or  twelve. 

(5)  The  Intermediate,  for  boys  and  girls  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
or  sixteen  (In  some  schools,  a  Senior  Department, 
coming  between  the  Intermediate  and  the  Adult,  is 
recognized.) 

(6)  Adult,  for  all  over  fifteen  or  sixteen. 

(7)  The  Home  Department,  for  those  who  cannot  attend,  but 
who  will  study  the  lessons  each  week. 

(8)  The  Teacher-Training  Department,  for  those  who  are 
preparing  to  become  teachers. 

226 


Lesson  3  227 

In  many  schools  of  several  hundred  or  more,  the  Adult 
Department  indicated  above  is  divided  into  a  Young  Men's 
Department,  a  Young  Women's  Department,  and  a  Senior 
Department  of  classes  of  either  sex. 

An  educational  test  may  be  required  for  promotion  with 
honors  from  one  department  to  the  other,  but  transfer 
(without  honors)  may  be  made  upon  the  age  basis.  Without 
departments  there  can  be  no  thorough  grading. 

33.  Departmental  Organization. — Each  department  should 
have  some  organization  within  itself,  at  'least  a  superintendent 
in  general  charge.  The  superintendent  of  the  department 
determines  in  what  classes  new  scholars  shall  be  enrolled,  and 
carries  into  effect  the  plans  of  work  outlined  by  the  cabinet  or 
the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  The  teachers  should 
be  especially  adapted  to  the  work  of  the  department,  and  should 
remain  in  that  department  as  long  as  they  can  do  their  best 
work  there. 

34.  Classification  (or  Grading).  — Proper  classification  can- 
not be  maintained  unless  some  one  especially  appointed 
for  this  purpose  gives  it  careful  attention  every  Sunday.  Neither 
teachers  nor  scholars  should  be  allowed  to  bring  new  members 
into  their  classes  without  the  consent  of  the  officer  in  charge 
of  the  classification,  nor  should  new  scholars  be  permitted  to 
join  whatever  class  they  wish,  regardless  of  proper  classification. 
Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  grading.  The  superintendent 
of  classification  will  determine  to  what  department  the  new 
scholar  belongs,  and  his  word  should  be  final. 

35.  Promotions.  — There  comes  a  time  when  a  scholar  ceases 
to  belong  in  one  department,  and  belongs  in  another.  Promo- 
tions should  be  made  regularly,  and  at  a  public  service.  All 
members  of  the  school  up  to  and  including  the  intermediate 
scholars  should  be  promoted  at  the  same  time,  changing  seats, 
as  far  as  possible. 

36.  Records.  — The  general  records  of  the  school  should  be 
well  kept,  in  ink,  in  a  good  book  adapted  to  the  purpose.  There 
should  be  annual,  quarterly,  and  weekly  reports  which  should  be 
comparative  and  complete. 


228  The  School 


Officers  and  their  Duties 

37.  The  officers  will  vary  in  number  and  work,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  school  and  the  character  of  its  organization. 
Certain  officers,  however,  are  needed,  no  matter  how  large  or 
small  the  school  may  be.  Many  schools  are  under-officered, 
it  is  oftener  so  than  otherwise.  Not  all  of  the  officers  we  shall 
name  here  could  be  profitably  used  in  a  small  school,  and  yet 
each  of  them  is  important. 

38.  The  Pastor. — Since  the  Sunday-school  is  a  church  service, 
the  pastor  not  only  has  privileges  there,  but  has  responsibilities 
as  well.  His  chief  responsibility  lies  in  the  directing  of  the 
teaching,  for  the  pastor  of  a  church  is  as  responsible  for  the 
teaching  that  is  done  in  his  Sunday-school  as  for  the  teaching 
that  is  done  from  his  pulpit.  This  determines  largely  his  place 
of  greatest  opportunity — the  selecting  of  material  for  the  teacher- 
training  class,  and  helping  to  select  and  appoint  the  teachers  in 
all  departments  of  the  school.  He  should  not  act  as  superin- 
tendent, if  it  can  be  avoided,  neither  should  he  usually  teach  a 
class,  except  as  a  substitute  teacher.  He  should  attend  the 
school  regularly,  and  have  a  vital  part  in  the  program  of  every 
session. 

39.  The  Superintendent. — The  superintendent  should  be 
regarded  as  a  church  officer,  and,  except  in  union  and  mission 
Sunday-schools,  should  be  elected  by  the  church  to  which  the 
Sunday-school  belongs,  in  the  same  manner  as  other  church 
officers  are  elected.  He  should  have  general  charge  of  the 
Sunday-school,  and  be  regarded  as  its  executive  head.  He 
should  have  sole  authority  to  appoint  all  of  the  other  officers 
of  the  school:  such  appointment  to  be  confirmed  either  by  the 
church  or  some  body  representing  it,  such  as  a  Sunday-school 
Board  or  teachers'  meeting.  He  should  have  a  voice  in  the 
appointing  of  the  teachers  in  all  departments.  During  the  school 
session  he  should  study  the  school,  seeking  to  discover  the 
weak  places  and  how  to  strengthen  them. 

40.  The  Assistant  Superintendent. — The  assistant  super- 
intendent should  take  charge  of  the  school  in  the  superintendent's 
absence,  and  should  also  have  specific  duties  to  perform  in  every 


Lesson  3  229 


regular  session.  These  duties  will  be  determined  by  the  size 
and  requirements  of  the  school,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  other 
officers. 

41.  The  Secretary. — The  name  of  this  officer  indicates  his 
duties.  His  reports  should  be  neatly  kept  in  ink,  in  a  book  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose.  They  should  be  comprehensive  and 
comparative,  so  that  it  may  be  determined  at  a  glance  whether 
the  school  is  growing  or  not.  He  should  make  reports  weekly, 
quarterly,  and  annually. 

42.  The  Treasurer. — The  duties  of  this  officer  are  likewise 
indicated  by  his  name.  He  should  be  more,  however,  than  the 
custodian  of  funds.  He  should  endeavor  to  increase  the  offerings 
to  the  proper  amount .  He  will  pay  out  money  only  upon  orders 
properly  placed  in  his  hands. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Name  four  conditions  that  mark  the  organized  Sunday- 
school. 

2.  What  facts  should  enrolment  show? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  grading? 

4.  Name  the  principal  departments  into  which  a  school  may 
be  divided. 

5.  What  officer  should  receive  and  locate  new  scholars? 

6.  What  are  some  of  the  factors  in  wise  promotion  of  school 
members? 

7.  State  the  pastor's  chief  responsibility  for  the  school. 

8.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  superintendent? 

9.  The  Assistant  Superintendent? 

10.  What  are  the  secretary's  duties? 

11.  The  treasurer's? 


Lesson  4 
The  Sunday-school  Organized  (Concluded) 

43.  The  Superintendent  of  Classification. — This  offiice  may 
be  filled  by  one  of  the  assistant  superintendents,  but  in  a  school 
of  one  hundred  or  more,  it  is  well  to  have  a  separate  officer.  His 
duty  will  be  to  classify  the  new  scholars,  first  ascertaining  by 
personal  investigation  the  department  in  which  the  new  scholar 
belongs.  This  is  a  most  important  office,  and  cannot  be  neglected 
a  single  Sunday  without  detriment  to  the  grading  of  the  school. 

44.  The  Librarian. — This  officer  should  have  charge  of  the 
library  or  libraries  and  of  all  supplies.  New  books  should  have 
his  approval  before  being  added  to  the  library.  He  should  prop- 
erly classify  the  books,  so  that  those  in  each  department  may 
know  which  are  best  adapted  to  their  needs.  It  would  be  well, 
if  possible,  to  give  him  control  of  a  library  fund,  with  authority 
to  add  one  or  two  books  at  a  time  as  the  funds  will  allow.  All 
such  books  should  be  announced  from  the  platform  on  the  day 
they  are  placed  in  the  library.  A  library  maintained  in  this 
way  will  always  be  fresh,  and  never  lose  its  interest. 

45.  The  Birthday  Secretary. — This  officer  takes  charge  of 
the  birthday  contributions  of  the  members.  Each  member  of 
the  school  may  be  asked  to  contribute  on  his  birthday  as  many 
pennies  as  he  is  years  old,  or  as  much  more  as  he  may  choose. 
The  money  thus  gathered  may  be  used  for  benevolent  and  mis- 
sionary purposes  and  become  the  means  of  creating  considerable 
interest. 

46.  The  Substitute  Teacher  Secretary.— This  officer  should 
see  that  classes  whose  teachers  are  temporarily  absent  are  supplied 
with  teachers.  Having  secured  a  list  of  names  of  those  who  will 
substitute,  he  should  send  notices  each  Monday  to  those  who  are 
pledged  for  the  following  Sunday,  notifying  them  that  their 
date  is  at  hand,  and  asking  them  also  to  attend  the  Workers' 
Meeting  that  week. 

47.  The  Biographer. — Some  schools  call  this  officer  the 
Historian.  He  keeps  in  a  book,  or  by  the  card  system,  per- 
manent records  of  all  the  members,  with  date  of  entering  the 
school  and  other  items  of  interest,  such  as  date  of  promotion, 

230 


Lesson 


231 


of  joining  cliurch,  removals,  deaths,  etc.  Where  this  work  is 
properly  done,  the  records  become  exceedingly  interesting  and 
valuable. 

48.  The  Door  Men. — A  door  man  should  be  placed  in  charge 
of  each  door  entexing  the  building,  or  opening  from  one  room 
into  another.  These  door  men  should  know  just  when  the  doors 
may  be  opened  for  people  to  pass  without  interfering  with  the 
school.  They  should  be  in  their  place  before  the  school  begins, 
allowing  none  to  enter  the  room  when  their  entrance  would 
disturb  the  services.  They  should  pay  special  attention  to 
strangers  and  visitors,  and  prevent  boisterous  conduct  or  talking 
about  the  doors. 

49.  The  Ushers. — Every  school  should  have  at  least  one 
usher,  and  as  many  more  as  are  needed.  In  a  school  of  three 
hundred  or  over,  several  ushers  can  be  used  profitably.  They 
should  be  in  their  places  early,  to  pay  proper  attention  to  visitors, 
and  to  see  that  they  do  not  occupy  seats  intended  for  regular 
scholars.  They  can  also  look  after  new  scholars  as  they  enter, 
and  see  that  they  are  directed  to  the  Superintendent  of 
Classification. 

50.  The  Courtesy  Committee. — This  committee  will  be 
needed  chiefly  in  larger  schools.  Its  purpose  is  to  make  visitors 
welcome,  and  show  them  every  courtesy  that  is  possible.  The 
Courtesy  Committee  relieves  the  superintendent  and  other 
officers  of  this  particular  duty,  thus  enabling  such  officers  to  do 
those  things  for  which  they  are  responsible.  Visitors  greatly 
appreciate  this  attention,  and  will  go  away  with  a  good  impres- 
sion of  the  school.  A  Guest  Book  may  be  kept,  to  secure  the 
names  of  visitors 

51.  The  Missionary  Secretary. — Every  Sunday-school  ought 
to  be  a  missionary  society.  The  Missionary  Secretary  will  en- 
deavor to  cultivate  missionary  interest  and  spirit  in  the  school. 
He  can  do  this  by  securing  a  proper  distribution  of  missionary 
literature,  by  helping  to  prepare  missionary  programs  and 
■concerts,  by  keeping  in  touch  with  those  phases  of  mission  work 
supported  by  the  school,  or  church  or  denomination,  and  report- 
ing from  time  to  time.  He  will  have  charge  of  the  missionary 
maps,  charts,  and  curios. 


232  The  School 

52.  The  Temperance  Secretary. — This  officer  should  en- 
deavor to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  temperance  and  good  citizen- 
ship. If  temperance  pledges  are  used  in  the  school,  it  would  be 
well  for  him  to  keep  a  record  of  them,  and  to  enter  the  names 
permanently  in  a  book,  reporting  from  time  to  time  how  many 
names  he  has.  He  can  aid  the  superintendent,  also,  by  helping 
to  prepare  temperance  concerts,  and  by  introducing  various 
appropriate  features  into  the  program  on  Temperance  Sunday. 

53.  The  Superintendent's  Aides. — These  are  usually  boys, 
twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  are  hands  and  feet  for  the 
superintendent.  They  prepare  the  platform  and  room  for  the 
school  service,  put  the  blackboard  into  place,  adjust  the  hymn- 
board  and  the  flags,  if  they  are  used.  They  may  also  distribute 
the  hymn-books  and  Bibles. 

54.  The  Messenger  Cadets. — These  are  usually  boys  of  the 
Junior  Department,  and  their  chief  business  is  to  carry  messages 
to  absentees,  flowers  to  the  sick,  or  messages  to  any  one,  for  the 
superintendent  or  pastor.  Under  the  direction  of  the  Home 
Department  Superintendent  they  may  deliver  the  quarterlies 
and  other  supplies.  They  should  be  in  charge  of  a  man  who 
understands  boys  and  loves  to  work  with  them. 

55.  The  Sunshine  Band. — This  is  usually  made  up  of  girls  of 
the  Junior  age,  who  visit  the  sick,  carry  them  flowers,  sing  and 
read  to  them,  and  minister  to  them  in  every  way  they  can. 
They  should  be  in  charge  of  a  woman  appointed  for  this  work. 

56.  The  Department  Superintendents. — These  should  be 
looked  upon  as  officers  of  the  Sunday-school.  Each  superin- 
tendent is  expected  to  preside  in  his  own  department,  with  as 
much  care  as  if  it  were  the  entire  school;  to  preserve  the 
grading  provided  for  by  the  superintendent  of  classification; 
to  endeavor  to  keep  the  classes  as  nearly  uniform  in  size  as  pos- 
sible; and  to  cultivate  a  department  life  and  interest. 

57.  The  Superintendent's  Cabinet.— All  of  the  officers 
named  above,  and  the  Chairmen  of  all  the  committees  named 
above,  constitute  the  Superintendent's  Cabinet.  Nothing  should 
be  presented  to  the  teachers  or  to  the  school  as  a  whole  until  it 
has  first  been  decided  upon  by  the  Cabinet.  The  Cabinet  should 
have  regular  meetings,  perhaps  once  a  month. 


Lesson  4  233 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  are  the  duties  of  a  superintendent  of  classification? 

2.  Of  the  librarian? 

3.  How  can  a  Birthday  Secretary  be  utilized? 

4.  How  may  substitute  teachers  be  secured? 

5.  In  what  ways  can  door-men  render  service? 

6.  What  may  ushers  do? 

7.  Through  what  officers  may  missionary  work  be  emphasized, 
and  how?     Temperance  work? 

8.  What    is    meant    by   Superintendent's   aides?     Messenger 
Cadets?     The  Sunshine  Band? 

9.  How  may  a  Superintendent's  Cabinet  help  the  school? 


Lesson  5 
The  Sunday-school  in  Session 

58.  The  Sunday-school  session  is  not  the  Sunday-school,  for 
the  same  reason  that  a  church  service  is  not  the  church.  The 
session  begins,  carries  out  a  certain  program,  and  closes.  The 
Sunday-school  continues  throughout  the  week.  Much  previous 
planning  and  preparation  are  essential  to  the  success  of  any 
Sunday-school  session. 

59.  Time. — The  most  convenient  hour  is  the  best  hour. 
Having  discovered  that  hour,  hold  to  it  the  year  round.  Fre- 
quent changes  will  bring  disaster.  Every  hour  has  its  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages.  The  morning  hour  is  usually  attended 
by  more  tardiness  of  teachers  and  scholars,  but  all  are  fresher. 
The  noon  hour  will  suffer  less  from  tardiness  and  will  have  a 
larger  attendance  of  adults.  Discipline  will  be  more  of  a  prob- 
lem, especially  if  the  school  is  continued  far  beyond  the  dinner 
time.  The  afternoon  hour  has  the  following  advantages:  (i) 
The  school  does  not  precede  nor  follow  another  service,  which 
is  detrimental  to  both.  (2)  A  completely  rounded  program  can 
be  carried  out  because  the  time  will  be  longer.  (3)  There  is 
opportunity  for  after-meetings,  if  desired.  Many  of  the  best 
schools  are  held  in  the  afternoon.  There  are  the  following  dis- 
advantages, however:  (i)  It  breaks  in  upon  the  Sunday  after- 
noon home  life.  (2)  It  prevents  the  members  from  working 
in  mission  schools,  etc.  (3)  It  may  interfere  with  the  attendance 
at  the  night  services. 

60.  Length  of  Session. — The  usual  session  is  one  hour  long, 
but  this  is  too  short  to  secure  the  best  results.  An  hour  and  a 
quarter  is  better,  and  is  long  enough  for  a  morning  or  noon  school. 
Under  good  management,  an  afternoon  school  can  use  an  hour 
and  a  half  to  advantage. 

61.  Program. — The  superintendent  should  have  a  written 
program,  and  know  his  ground  every  step  of  the  way.  The 
pastor  and  chorister  should  have  copies.     So  also  should  every 

234 


Lesson  5  235 


individual  participant.  The  passing  from  one  feature  of  the 
program  to  the  next  should  be  done  quickly,  and,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, without  announcement. 

62.  How  to  Begin. — Be  ready.  Insist  that  all  officers  and 
teachers  shall  be  ready.  Begin  exactly  on  time.  Do  not  wait 
for  anything  nor  anybody.  Be  sure  all  understand  the  signal 
for  beginning.  Give  the  signal  once,  never  oftener.  Wait  for 
silence.     Do  not  begin  without  it. 

63.  Signals. — Use  the  bell  sparingly,  if  at  all.  For  certain 
signals  the  bell  may  be  desirable,  but  never  to  secure  order.  A 
chord  on  the  piano  is  better  than  a  bell.  Piano  signals  should 
be  arranged  so  that  a  signal  given  in  a  certain  way  always  means 
the  same  thing.  The  superintendent's  rising  in  his  place,  or, 
if  standing,  simply  raising  his  hand,  should  be  signal  enough  to 
secure  the  attention  of  any  school.  It  will  be,  if  the  school  is 
properly  trained,  and  so  seated  as  to  be  able  to  see  a 
signal. 

64.  Music. — An  orchestra  is  good,  but  should  not  be  too 
large  for  the  room.  A  piano  is  better  than  an  ordinary  organ 
because  of  its  distinct  tones.  The  next  best  instrument  to  add 
is  a  violin  for  a  small  room  and  a  cornet  for  a  large  one.  Do  not 
consume  too  much  time  with  instrumental  music  in  the  session. 
The  orchestra  can  give  an  overture  at  the  opening,  a  number 
while  classes  reassemble  after  the  teaching  period,  and  a  postlude 
at  the  close.  That  is  sufficient.  The  superintendent  should 
select  the  hymns,  in  conference  with  the  chorister.  Some  of 
them  should  be  appropriate  to  the  lesson  of  the  day.  Use  one 
or  two  old  church  hymns  at  each  session.  Select  a  good  book, 
and  have  plenty  of  copies.  The  best  results  cannot  be  secured 
where  even  two  sing  from  the  same  book.  The  hymn  numbers 
should  be  placed  on  the  blackboard  or  hymn-board,  before  the 
opening,  in  plain  sight  of  all. 

65.  Prayers. — Sunday-school  prayers  should  never  be  long, 
and  those  who  pray  aloud  should  keep  the  children  in  mind. 
All  the  rest  will  follow.  Two  or  three  short  prayers  at  dif- 
ferent  times   are   better   than   one  long  prayer. 

66.  Memorizing  Scripture. — Every  school  should  repeat 
some  Scripture  from  memory  every  Sunday      Select  the  verses 


236  The  School 

carefully,  and  not  too  many  of  them.     A  few  verses  thoroughly 
memorized  are  better  than  many  imperfectly  learned. 

67.  Lesson  Study. — The  lesson  study  period  should  be  the 
heart  of  the  session.  It  should  never  have  less  than  thirty 
minutes.  Hold  this  period  sacred  to  the  teachers,  without  inter- 
ruption of  any  kind.  No  visiting  of  classes  by  officers  at  this 
time  should  be  permitted.  The  necessary  business  of  the  session 
should  be  conducted  during  the  opening  and  closing  services. 
Do  not  distribute  books  nor  papers  to  the  classes  until  the  close 
of  school — certainly  not  during  the  teaching  period. 

68.  Review. — The  superintendent  should  not  review  the 
entire  lesson,  he  should  mention  only  that  part  of  it  which 
enables  him  to  fix  the  personal  application  he  has  in  mind  for 
the  school  that  day.     The  blackboard  will  help  if  properly  used. 

69.  Reports. — Reports  should  be  few,  and  very  short,  never 
in  detail.  Calling  the  roll  of  officers  and  teachers  is  a  waste  of 
time.  To  give  the  number  present,  the  number  absent,  the 
offering  for  the  day,  the  missionary  collection,  and  the  names 
of  the  sick  is  usually  sufficient,  except  in  cases  of  emergency, 
such  as  deaths  or  funerals. 

70.  Announcements. — The  fewer  announcements  the  better. 
Those  that  must  be  made  should  be  brief,  plain,  striking  Do  not 
call  them  "announcements."  Work  them  in,  one  at  a  time,  as 
comments  on  the  program  in  hand.  The  announcement  that 
you  have  an  announcement  to  make  is  an  announcement  wasted, 
and  time  wasted,  too.  Never  take  the  time  of  all  to  make  an 
announcement  that  concerns  but  a  few  Do  not  fall  into  set 
forms.  Announcements  may  be  interesting  and  instructive, 
but  usually  they  are  not  so.     They  should  be  made  a  study. 

71.  How  to  Close. — The  lesson  review  or  application  should 
be  followed  by  a  short  prayer.  Then  sing  a  sweet,  familiar 
hymn  bearing  upon  the  truth  you  have  tried  to  impress,  the 
school  remaining  seated.  Then  the  benediction,  school  still 
seated.  Then  a  moment  of  silent  prayer,  followed  by  the 
piano  or  orchestra  softly  playing  the  music  that  has  just  been 
sung.     Let  this  be  the  signal  for  dismissal. 


Lesson  5  237 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
various  hours  for  Sunday-school  session? 

2.  What  are  some  of  the  details  to  lookout  for  in  beginning 
a  session? 

3.  Name  a  signal  that  is  better  than  a  bell. 

4.  State  how  you  would  plan  to  secure  good  singing. 

5.  What  should  not  be  allowed  during  the  lesson  period? 

6.  Outline  a  good  plan  for  the  closing  service. 

Test  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  1  to  5 

1.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Sunday-school? 

2.  How  many  Sunday-schools  in  the  world  to-day? 

3.  Suggest  ways  of  creating  missionary  interest  in  the  school. 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  requisites  for  hand-work  in  the 
school  ? 

5.  Give  four  conditions  that  mark  the  organized  Sunday- 
school. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  grading? 

7.  Name  the  principal  departments  into  which  a  school  may 
be  divided. 

8.  When   and   where   did   the   International    Lessons   have 
their  origin? 

9.  By  whom  are  the  International  Lessons  selected? 

10.  What  is  the  work  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association? 

11.  What  is  the  World's  Sunday  School  Association? 

12.  How  may  substitute  teachers  be  secured? 

13.  What  is  meant  by  Messenger  Cadets? 

14.  What  are  special  points  to  look  out  for  in  beginning  a 
session? 

15.  How  would  you  plan  to  secure  good  singing? 


Lesson  6 
The  Sunday-school  Teacher 

72.  The  Teacher's  Office. — Next  to  the  minister  of  the 
gospel,  the  Sunday-school  teacher  occupies  the  highest  office 
in  Christian  service.  The  central  and  most  important  feature 
of  every  Sunday-school  session  is  the  Bible-teaching  period. 
All  the  other  exercises  of  the  school  should  be  so  arranged  as  to 
make  the  teaching  period  as  effective  as  possible.  The  teachers 
do  the  teaching,  hence  the  importance  of  the  office.  The 
character  of  the  teacher  and  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  usually 
determine  the  efficiency  of  the  school .  like  teacher,  like  school 

73.  The  Teacher  in  Prospect. — Probably  the  greatest 
problem  in  Sunday-school  work,  at  present,  is  that  of  securing  a 
sufficient  number  of  good  teachers.  The  only  solution  of  this 
problem  is  for  every  school  to  have  at  least  one  teacher-training 
class  each  year  Any  school  which  sets  itself  definitely  to  the 
task  of  training  its  own  teachers,  from  its  own  ranks,  for  its  own 
classes,  will  reduce  the  teacher  problem  to  a  minimum.  Such  a 
class  should  be  composed  of  young  men  and  women  between  the 
ages  of  sixteen  and  thirty,  specially  chosen  by  the  pastor  and 
superintendent  because  of  their  interest  in  the  work  and  apparent 
fitness  for  it  The  class  should  be  taught  by  the  best  teacher 
obtainable,  though  he  need  not  be  an  expert  It  should  meet  at 
the  church,  at  the  regular  Sunday-school  hour,  thus  solving  the 
difficulty  as  to  time  and  place  Substitute  teachers  should 
never  be  drawn  from  this  class.  A  teacher's  diploma  should  be 
issued  to  each  student  completing  the  course  and  passing  the 
required  examination. 

74.  The  Teacher  Trained. — Many  who  are  now  teaching 
desire  to  take  a  teacher-training  course.  Difficult  though  it  is 
to  maintain  a  class  for  such  workers,  it  can  be  done  Evidently 
it  cannot  meet  at  the  Sunday-school  hour,  as  the  teachers  are 
already  occupied  A  full  week -night  is  preferable,  if  it  can  be 
had ,  if  not,  it  may  come  before  or  after  the  Workers'  Meeting  or 
prayer-meeting,  though  this  arrangement  is  always  more  or  less 
detrimental   to   both  meetings      Interdenominational   training- 

238 


Lesson  6  239 

classes  are  much  better  than  none,  but  the  training-class  in  the 
local  church  is  the  ideal,  and  should  be  maintained  wherever  it 
is  possible.  When  it  is  impossible  to  attend  a  teacher-training 
class,  or  there  is  none,  individuals  may  take  a  course  alone,  and 
this  is  often  done. 

75.  The  Teacher  Chosen. — The  teacher  should  be  chosen 
and  appointed  by  the  proper  authority  representing  the  church 
and  the  Sunday-school.  The  committee  for  appointing  teachers 
should  be  composed  of  three  persons:  the  pastor  of  the  church, 
the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  the  superintendent 
of  the  department  where  the  teacher  is  to  teach.  If  there  is  a 
separate  superintendent  of  teachers  in  the  Sunday-school,  he 
may  represent  the  superintendent  of  the  school  in  this  capacity. 
No  one  should  be  set  over  any  class  as  teacher  whose  appointment 
is  not  satisfactory  to  the  three  persons  named  above. 

76.  The  Teacher  Installed. — The  Sunday-school  is  a  church 
service,  hence  the  teacher  should  be  properly  recognized  by  the 
church.  It  is  desirable  that  all  the  officers  and  teachers  should 
be  assembled  and  installed  in  their  offices  for  the  coming  year 
with  fitting  exercises,  at  a  regular  service  of  the  church.  Such 
a  service  as  this  dignifies  the  office  of  the  Sunday-school  teacher, 
places  upon  him  the  approbation  of  the  church,  and  makes  him 
feel  that  his  work  is  appreciated.  The  installation  service  should 
be  in  charge  of  the  pastor  of  the  church,  and  the  officers  and 
teachers  should  be  seated  in  a  body.  Appropriate  exercises  for 
such  a  service  have  been  arranged,  and  may  be  easily  secured 
from  the  denominational  publishing  houses. 

77.  The  Teacher  Protected. — During  the  general  opening 
and  closing  exercises  of  the  Sunday-school  session  the  superin- 
tendent is  in  charge.  But  during  the  teaching  period  the 
teacher  outranks  everybody  else,  and  is  entitled  to  the  full  time 
set  apart  for  teaching  without  any  interruption.  The  officers 
of  the  school  should  not  be  allowed  to  disturb  the  classes  in  any 
way.  The  making  of  the  class  reports,  gathering  of  the  offering, 
and  similar  matters,  should  be  attended  to  before  the  recitation 
begins,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  least  interference 
with  the  class  work.  It  is  a  sin  to  disturb  a  class  unnecessarily 
after  the  teaching  has  begun. 


240  The  School 

78.  The  Teacher  Between  Sundays. — The  wise  teacher  will 
regard  the  intervening  week  between  two  sessions  of  the  school 
as  the  time  of  his  greatest  opportunity.  He  will  review  in  his 
mind  the  experiences  of  the  previous  Sunday,  endeavoring  to 
learn  therefrom  how  to  improve  his  work  in  the  future.  He  will 
give  himself  diligently  to  the  preparation  of  his  lesson  and  to  the 
visiting  of  the  absent,  and  will  be  especially  careful  to  call  upon 
the  sick  members  of  his  class.  He  v/ill  attend  the  Workers* 
Meeting,  and  avail  himself  of  every  opportunity  for  improvement. 
He  will  seek  personal  interviews  with  those  of  his  scholars  who 
have  been  troublesome  in  the  matter  of  discipline,  and  will  talk 
individually  with  all  the  members  of  his  class  in  order  to  win 
them  to  Christ.  He  will  identify  himself  with  the  International 
Reading  Circle,  as  a  member  of  which  he  pledges  to  read  at  least 
one  good  Sunday-school  book  each  year,  and  thus  keep  in  touch 
with  the  Sunday-school  movements  of  the  world. 

79.  The  Teacher's  Aim. — The  teacher  should  aim,  first  of 
all,  to  win  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  scholars.  Until 
this  is  done  little  else  is  possible,  because  there  can  be  no  effective 
teaching  without  co-operation.  He  should  give  his  scholars 
faithful  and  efficient  instruction  in  the  Word  of  God.  The 
lesson  itself  should  be  taught  each  Sunday,  and  not  allowed  to  be 
brushed  aside  by  the  discussion  of  any  other  topic,  though  other 
topics  may  be  used  to  introduce  or  illustrate  the  lesson.  He 
should  endeavor  to  lead  his  scholars  to  an  acceptance  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  This  is  oftener  accomplished 
by  a  personal  interview  than  in  the  class.  He  should  aim  to 
lead  his  scholars  into  membership  in  the  local  church.  He 
should  aim,  by  careful  training  and  instruction,  to  build  his 
scholars  up  into  strong  Christian  characters,  and  to  fit  them  for 
the  duties  of  civic  and  religious  life.  Let  him  remember  that  his 
work  is  for  eternity. 

80.  The  Teacher's  Reward. — The  teacher  receives  much  of 
his  reward  as  he  goes  along,  but  not  all  of  it.  The  privilege  of 
being  associated  with  the  Great  Teacher,  and  laboring  in  obe- 
dience to  his  command ;  the  joy  of  leading  souls  to  Jesus  Christ, 
and  sending  them  out  into  the  world  as  witnesses  for  him;  the 
consciousness  of  growing  power  in  service  because  of  work  well 


Lesson  6  241 


done;  the  companionship  of  kindred  spirits  engaged  in  the  same 
great  work — these  are  surely  rewards  enough.  But  there  is 
another  reward  when  the  work  is  done.  It  is  God's  "Well  done" 
to    the   faithful. 

Test  Questions 

1 .  What  should  be  the  most  important  feature  of  every  Sunday- 
school  session? 

2.  What  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  getting  teachers? 

3.  Who  should  be  in  a  teacher-training  class? 

4.  Who  should  choose  the  teachers? 

5.  In  what  special  way  may  the  teacher  be  recognized  by  the 
church  ? 

6.  What  may  the  teacher  accomplish  between  Sundays? 

7.  What  do  you  regard  as  the  teacher's  proper  aims? 

8.  What  is  the  teacher's  reward? 


16 


Lesson  7 
The  Workers'  Meeting 

81.  The  meeting  which  is  commonly  called  the  Teachers'- 
Meeting  we  prefer  to  call  the  Workers'  Meeting,  because  it 
should  be  as  helpful  to  the  officers  as  to  the  teachers.  It  is 
impossible  to  overestimate  the  value  of  a  properly  conducted 
Workers'  Meeting,  and  yet  it  is  difficult  to  maintain  one.  A 
Sunday-school  without  a  Workers'  Meeting  is  a  collection  of 
classes,  and  not  a  school  at  all,  strictly  speaking.  A  helpful 
Workers'  Meeting  maintained  regularly  every  week  guarantees 
a  good  Sunday-school.  It  is  a  thermometer  accurately  indicating 
the  true  condition  of  the  school.  To  the  tired  worker  it  is  a 
refreshing  port-of-call  between  the  two  continents  of  Sunday; 
to  the  discouraged,  it  is  a  heart  stimulant ;  to  the  over-busy,  it  is 
a  storehouse  filled  with  what  they  need,  and  ready  for  their  use. 
To  all  who  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  the  best  work,  it  is  a 
necessity. 

82.  Leadership. — The  superintendent  should  preside.  It  is 
his  meeting.  The  program  should  be  in  his  hands,  and  of  his 
making.  He  should  not  teach  the  lesson  unless  he  is  the  best 
qualified  person  to  do  it.  He  should  have  a  special  message  for 
the  workers  at  each  meeting,  bearing  upon  some  phase  of  the 
work. 

83.  Equipment.— All  who  attend  should  have  their  own 
Bibles.  Tablets  and  pencils  should  either  be  brought  from 
home  or  be  furnished  by  the  school.  There  should  be  a  good 
blackboard  at  hand,  also  the  necessary  maps  and  charts  for 
lesson  study.  A  teachers'  library  is  very  important,  and  the 
librarian  should  be  present,  so  that  the  workers  may  take  home 
the  books  if  they  desire.  Models  of  the  tabernacle  with  its 
furniture,  the  temple,  an  Oriental  house,  etc.,  will  be  helpful. 
Leaflets  on  various  phases  of  the  work,  for  distribution,  may 
profitably  be  used  from  time  to  time. 

84.  Who  Should  Attend.— Certainly  the  pastor.  The 
teachers  are  his  best  helpers;  the  Sunday-school  is  the  whitest 

242 


Lesson  7  243 


part  of  his  great  field.  He  cannot  aflford  not  to  be  in  vital  touch 
with  the  workers  of  the  Sunday-school.  He  may  or  may  not  be 
the  best  person  to  teach  the  lesson.  All  the  officers  of  the 
school  should  be  there,  for  the  details  of  their  official  duties  will 
be  discussed  from  time  to  time.  Of  course  the  teachers  will  be 
there,  and  the  substitute  teachers  who  are  to  act  on  the  following 
Sunday.  It  would  be  well  also  for  the  prospective  teachers  or 
the  members  of  the  training  class  to  be  present,  if  possible. 
Some  schools  require  the  attendance  of  the  teachers  upon  this 
meeting. 

85.  The  purpose  of  the  meeting  is  to  study  the  school,  to 
plan  for  the  school  work,  to  create  Sunday-school  enthusiasm; 
to  disseminate  Sunday-school  intelligence;  to  maintain  a  vital 
relation  to  the  great  Sunday-school  movements  of  the  day;  to 
show  how  to  teach  the  lesson  for  the  following  Sunday.  It  is 
to  help,  instruct,  encourage,  and  equip  the  officers  and  teachers 
at  every  point,  and  in  every  way. 

86.  Time  and  Place. — If  possible,  devote  an  evening  to  it, 
late  in  the  week  and  at  the  church.  Settle  upon  one  night  and 
stick  to  it.  Those  who  are  absent  will  always  know  exactly  when 
and  where  the  next  meeting  will  be  held.  No  more  important 
meeting  is  ever  held  at  the  church  than  this,  and  it  ought  to  have 
the  right  of  way  one  night  in  the  week.  It  is  a  short-sighted 
policy  on  the  part  of  any  church  to  deny  this. 

87.  Methods  of  Lesson  Work. — The  Workers'  Meeting  is 
not  a  Bible  class.  To  conduct  it  as  one  will  usually  kill  it.  A 
good  Workers'  Meeting  presupposes  previous  preparation  of  the 
lesson  on  the  part  of  the  teachers.  They  do  not  come  there  to 
study  the  lesson.  Other  things  being  equal,  that  Workers' 
Meeting  is  the  best  which,  under  wise  leadership,  has  the  largest 
number  of  participants.  It  should  be  conducted  on  the  cate- 
chetical rather  than  the  lecture  plan.  The  method  of  presenting 
the  lesson  should  have  more  consideration  than  the  subject- 
matter.  The  "Angle  Method"  of  conducting  the  lesson  periods 
of  a  Workers'  Meeting  is  very  popular,  and  is  explained  by  the 
following,  which  may  be  printed  on  cards,  and  handed  a  week  in 
advance  to  ten  persons,  each  of  whom  is  asked  to  be  prepared  on 
a  given  "Angle." 


244  The  School 

Angle  No.  1 — Approach. 

Give  subject  of  last  lesson,  brief  intervening  history,  time, 

place,  and  circumstances  leading  to  this  lesson. 
Let  the  lesson  text  be  read  at  this  point. 
Angle  No.  2 — The  Lesson  Story. 

Give  the  lesson  story  in  your  own  words. 
Angle  No.  3 — Analysis. 

Give  one  or  more  simple  working  outlines  for  studying  and 
teaching  this  lesson.     Use  the  blackboard  if  convenient. 
Angle  No.  4 — Biography. 

Give  the  names  of  persons,  classes,  and  nations  mentioned 
or  referred  to  in  the  lesson. 
Angle  No.  5 — Orientalisms. 

Give  any  Oriental  customs  or  manners  peculiar  to  this  lesson. 
Angle  No.  6— Central  Truth. 

Give  the  central  truth  of  the  lesson  and  your  reason  for  its 
choice. 
Angle  No.  7— First  Step. 

Give  a  good  way  to  introduce  this  lesson  so  as  to  secure 
attention  from  the  start. 
Angle  No.  8 — Primary. 

Give  the  features  of  this  lesson  which  are  best  adapted  to 
small  children. 
Angle  No.  9 — Illustrations. 

Give  a  few  incidents  or  facts  that  will  serve  as  illustrations. 
Angle  No.  10 — Practical  Lessons. 

Give  the  most  practical  lessons  in  personally  applying  the 
truths  of  this  lesson. 

The  leader  should  be  prepared  on  all  the  "Angles, "  so  that  he  can 
take  the  place  of  any  one  who  is  absent. 

88.  Program. — Begin  with  a  bright,  earnest,  tender  devo- 
tional service  of  ten  minutes,  remembering  in  prayer  any 
who  may  be  sick,  and  special  cases  of  interest  mentioned  by 
those  present.  Then  devote  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  according 
to  the  need,  to  some  feature  of  the  school  work  previously 
decided  upon.  It  may  be  a  discussion  of  finances,  led  by  the 
treasurer,  or  of  the  records,  led  by  the  secretary,  or  of  grading, 
led  by  the  superintendent  of  classification,  or  a  consideration  of  a 
given  department,  led  by  the  superintendent  of  that  department. 
Follow  this  with  thirty  or  thirty-five  minutes  in  the  consideration 
of  the  lesson.  Then  devote  about  ten  minutes  to  messages 
or  suggestions  from  the  pastor  or  superintendent,  or  both, 
dosmg  with  a  five-minute  service  of  prayer  and  song.     The 


Lesson  7  245 

service  can  be  made  to  come  within  an  hour,  by  shortening  some 
of  the  items  named  above.  At  the  close  of  the  Workers'  Meeting, 
spend  a  few  minutes  in  social  intercourse.  A  Workers'  Meeting 
conducted  after  this  manner  will  be  a  veritable  dynamo  of  power 
for  the  Sunday-school,  and  none  who  can  attend  will  willingly 
remain  away. 

Test  Questions 

1.  State  some  of  the  gains  in  having  a  Workers'  Meeting. 

2.  Who  should  lead  that  meeting? 

3.  What  equipment  is  needed  for  it? 

4.  Who  should  attend  it? 

5.  Describe   the   "Angle   Method"   of  lesson   study   at   the 
Workers'  Meeting, 

6.  Outline  a  suggested  program  for  such  a  meeting. 


Lesson  8 
Sunday-school  Finance 

89.  Christian  giving  is  Christian  worship.  No  test  of  Chris- 
tian character  is  so  accurate  or  severe  as  the  motive  and  method 
of  giving.  Giving  is  a  Christian  grace,  and  the  Sunday-school 
is  the  best  place  to  cultivate  it.  The  Sunday-school  should  be 
the  "West  Point"  of  the  church,  in  this  as  in  other  things. 
Since  the  Sunday-school  is  a  church  service,  the  church  is  evi- 
dently responsible  for  its  maintenance  and  support.  It  does  not 
follow,  however,  that  the  church  should  pour  into  the  Sunday- 
school  all  the  money  it  needs,  nor  that  the  Sunday-school  should 
give  away  all  the  money  it  raises. 

90.  The  Financial  Board. — There  is  in  many  a  church,  and 
should  be  in  every  one,  a  board  having  the  special  care  of  the 
finances  of  the  Sunday-school.  This  board  should  be  composed 
of  certain  officials  in  both  the  church  and  the  Sunday-school,  so 
that  their  action  may  be  wise  and  intelligent.  Certainly  the 
pastor,  superintendent,  church  treasurer,  and  school  treasurer 
should  be  members  of  this  board.  They  should  be  empowered 
to  carry  out  the  financial  policy  of  the  school,  direct  in  all  matters 
of  financial  detail,  audit  all  bills,  and  see  that  these  are  promptly 
paid,  so  the  good  credit  of  the  school  may  be  maintained. 

91.  The  Budget. — At  the  beginning  of  each  year  a  carefully 
prepared  budget  should  be  presented  by  the  Financial  Board, 
indicating  how  much  money  the  school  will  be  asked  to  raise, 
and  what  proportion  of  it  should  be  used  for  benevolences, 
church  support,  school  expenses,  etc.  A  liberal  allowance 
should  be  made  for  unexpected  expenditures  that  cannot  be 
foreseen.  The  budget  should  be  printed,  so  that  each  member 
may  have  a  copy.  If  satisfactory,  the  budget  may  be  accepted 
by  the  school,  by  vote,  as  an  indication  of  its  loyalty  to  the 
board  and  to  the  church. 

92.  Right  Motives  in  Giving. — All  giving  should  be  "as 
unto  the  Lord."  The  scholars  should  be  taught  that  we  are  all 
stewards,  and  that  everything  we  have  belongs  to  God.     Sunday- 

246 


Lesson  8  247 

schools  properly  imbued  with  right  motives  in  giving  to-day 
mean  churches  aflame  with  financial  and  spiritual  power  to- 
morrow. When  the  motive  is  right,  giving  is  a  means  of  Chris- 
tian growth.  Love  is  the  only  worthy  motive;  giving  is  the 
test  of  love.  You  can  give  without  loving,  but  you  cannot  love 
without  giving;  God  so  loved  the  World  that  he  gave  his  only 
son.  Without  love,  there  is  no  joy  in  giving.  Without  joy  in 
giving,  we  cannot  please  him;  "God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 
No  deeper  joy  ever  comes  to  the  Christian  heart  than  the  joy 
of  right  giving.  Jesus  said,  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive."  Every  Sunday-school  should  be  taught  this  truth, 
and  taught  why  it  is  truth. 

93.  Right  Methods  in  Giving. — Every  member  of  the 
school  should  be  asked  to  contribute  a  certain  amount  regularly 
each  Sunday,  making  up  the  same  in  cases  of  absence.  This 
amount  should  be  decided  upon  by  the  scholar  in  conference 
with  his  parents  or  the  teacher,  unless  the  scholar  earns  his  own 
money.  Avoid  spasmodic  efforts  in  raising  money.  In  the  end, 
the  effect  on  the  school  is  not  good,  and  the  results  are  not 
satisfactory.  Every  member  should  be  urged  to  give  something, 
no  matter  how  small.  The  sum  given  should  be  in  proportion 
to  the  ability  to  give,  and  not  gauged  by  what  others  do.  One 
of  the  safest  foundations  that  can  be  laid  for  the  development 
of  Christian  character  and  a  happy  life  is  to  fix  in  youth  the 
habit  of  regular,  systematic,  intelligent  giving.  Small,  dated 
envelopes  for  each  scholar,  one  for  each  Sunday,  stating  the 
purpose  for  which  the  money  is  used,  generally  insure  larger 
offerings  and  greater  satisfaction  to  the  givers.  Do  not  gather 
the  offering  during  the  singing  or  during  any  other  feature  of  the 
service.  Dignify  it  by  giving  it  a  place  and  time.  Offer  a 
prayer  over  it  before  passing  it  to  the  treasury. 

.94.  How  to  Use  the  Money. — The  larger  share  of  the  money 
contributed  by  a  Sunday-school  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  devoted 
to  missionary  work  and  benevolences.  A  certain  proportion 
of  the  money  should  be  passed  over  to  the  church  treasury,  so 
that  every  member  of  the  school  may  know  that  he  is  helping  to 
support  the  church,  and  feel  that  the  church's  pastor  is  his  pastor. 
A  certain  portion  of  the  money  should  be  used  for  the  expenses 


248  The  School 

of  the  school.  This  will  teach  economy  and  independence. 
The  proper  division  of  these  funds  will  not  be  the  same  in  all 
cases,  but  should  be  determined  by  the  Financial  Board,  in  view 
of  the  local  conditions  and  needs. 

95.  Records  and  Reports. — No  account  should  be  kept  of 
the  money  given  by  any  member,  but  only  of  the  fact  of  giving. 
Thus  may  be  avoided  the  appeal  to  the  pride  of  the  well-to-do, 
and  the  envy  of  the  very  poor.  The  report  for  each  Sunday 
should  show  how  many  givers  and  how  many  omitters  there  are 
in  each  department  or  class  and  in  the  whole  school.  Mentioning 
the  departments  or  classes  having  no  omitters  will  stimulate 
other  departments  and  classes  to  seek  that  distinction.  A 
blackboard  properly  ruled  so  that  nothing  need  be  done  but  put 
in  the  figures,  can  be  made  to  show  this  in  a  manner  that  will  not 
be  forgotten,  and  it  will  be  a  good  object-lesson  to  the  whole 
school.  Frequent  reports  should  be  made  to  the  entire  school 
as  to  the  use  that  is  made  of  the  money.  Printed  statements 
should  be  issued,  if  possible,  with  full,  detailed  report  of  all  funds 
received  and  expended,  which  the  scholars  may  take  home  to 
their  parents.  The  more  thoroughly  the  school  and  the  home 
are  kept  informed  as  to  these  financial  operations,  the  more 
generous  and  intelligent  will  be  the  giving. 

Test  Questions 

1.  How  should  the  Financial  Board  be  made  up,  and  what  aie 
its  duties? 

2.  What  is  the  true  motive  for  giving? 

3.  Name  some  right  methods  in  giving. 

4.  What  use  should  be  made  of  Sunday-school  contributions? 

5.  What  facts  should  the  Treasurer's  weekly  report  include? 


Lesson  9 
The  Sunday-school  and  Missions 

96.  "It  is  the  whole  business  of  the  church,  and  it  is  the 
business  of  the  whole  church,  to  carry  the  whole  Gospel  to  the 
whole  world  as  speedily  as  possible."  Missionary  work  is  not 
one  of  the  features  of  church  activity;  it  is  the  one  all -important 
work  of  every  church,  every  Sunday-school,  every  Christian. 
Without  intelligent  missionary  interest  there  can  be  little  spiritual 
power.  Every  Sunday-school  should  be,  in  fact,  a  missionary 
organization,  and  set  itself  to  definite,  far-reaching  missionary 
tasks. 

97.  Missionary  Secretary. — Every  Sunday-school  should 
have  a  Missionary  Secretary.  He  should  be  deeply  interested 
in  missions,  and  as  thoroughly  informed  as  possible.  He  should 
bring  to  the  school  from  time  to  time  the  latest  missionary 
intelligence,  especially  from  those  fields  in  which  the  denomina- 
tion, the  church,  and  the  school  are  most  interested.  He  will 
select  the  missionary  books  for  the  scholars'  and  the  teachers' 
library.  He  should  co-operate  with  the  other  officers  and 
teachers  in  creating  and  maintaining  a  missionary  atmosphere 
in  the  school. 

98.  Missionary  Committee. — If  the  school  is  large,  a  Mission- 
ary Committee  will  be  useful.  It  should  be  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  Missionary  Secretary,  and  should  consist  of  one 
person  from  each  department  of  the  school.  This  will  insure 
that  all  departments  are  brought  into  vital  touch  with  the 
missionary  activities  of  the  school.  Such  a  committee  will  be 
most  helpful  in  arranging  missionary  programs,  selecting  mem- 
bers for  the  mission  study  classes,  planning  the  entire  missionary 
instruction  of  the  school,  and  attending  to  the  proper  distribu- 
tion of  missionary  periodicals  and  literature.  This  committee 
may  also  assist  in  securing  a  missionary  training  of  the  teachers 
in  the  teacher-training  classes. 

99.  Missionary  Libraries. — Some  of  the  choice,  bright, 
interesting  missionary   books  which   are  now   very   abundant 

249 


2SO  The  School 

should  be  in  every  Sunday-school  library.  If  selections  are 
properly  made,  the  books  will  be  sought  for  and  eagerly  read 
by  the  boys  and  girls.  There  should  also  be  in  the  teachers' 
library  some  special  missionary  books  dealing  with  methods 
(see  Appendix),  and  the  teachers  should  be  urged  to  read  them. 

100.  Missionary  Equipment. — Splendid  missionary  maps, 
charts,  pictures,  and  curios  are  now  abundant  and  inexpensive. 
They  may  be  secured  from  denominational  publishing  houses. 
Every  school  should  have  a  supply,  and  they  should  be  in  the 
care  of  the  Missionary  Secretary.  Large  charts  and  maps  may 
be  made  by  the  scholars  under  the  direction  of  the  Missionary 
Committee.  Secure,  if  possible,  a  missionary  map  of  the  world, 
and  a  map  showing  the  missionary  activities  of  the  denomina- 
tion. Charts  showing  the  relative  strength  and  growth  of  the 
Christian  religion  as  compared  with  other  religions  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  are  effective.  A  cabinet  of  missionary  curios  is 
most  desirable. 

101.  Mission  Study  Class. — There  should  be  at  least  one 
mission  study  class  in  every  school.  It  is  usually  possible. 
Such  classes  need  not  continue  all  the  year.  Ten  meetings  of 
one  hour  each,  for  ten  successive  weeks,  will  enable  any  class 
that  applies  itself  to  the  work  to  complete  one  of  the  elementary 
text-books  relating  to  missions.  The  meetings  should  be  held 
on  a  week-night,  and  they  should  not  be  obliged  to  divide  the 
evening  with  any  other  meeting.  The  available  time  in  the 
Sunday-school  session  is  not  long  enough  unless  double  the 
number  of  lessons  are  used,  and  this  is  not  always  practicable. 
The  class  should  be  composed  only  of  those  young  people  who 
are  deeply  interested,  or  want  to  become  interested,  in  missions. 
Five  to  ten  members  are  enough  for  a  good  class.  The  leader 
should  be  an  enthusiast  who  is  not  afraid  to  work.  Such  a 
class  maintained  for  a  few  years  will  create  a  missionary 
interest  in  any  school  that  will  reveal  itself  in  larger  offerings, 
and  probably  in  volunteers  for  the  missionary  field. 

102.  Missionary  Room. — If  there  is  an  available  room  in 
the  church,  it  would  be  well  to  set  it  apart  as  the  Missionary 
Room.  Here  will  be  found  the  missionary  library,  periodicals, 
maps,  charts,  and  curios,  properly  displayed  and  cared  for.     It 


Lesson  g  251 

may  be  a  class-room,  if  no  other  room  is  to  be  had.  The  Mis- 
sionary Secretary  will  have  a  table  or  desk  here,  and  it  will  serve 
as  his  office.  It  will  furnish  a  good  place  for  the  mission  study 
class,  and  will  be  the  center  of  all  the  missionary  activities  of 
the  school. 

103.  Missionary  Sunday. — Missionary  instruction  should  be 
given  in  connection  with  every  lesson  that  will  permit  of  it. 
Once  a  month,  however,  there  should  be  special  missionary 
exercises,  whether  the  particular  lesson  lends  itself  to  missionary 
treatment  or  not.  Five  or  ten  minutes'  time  during  the  opening 
or  closing  exercises  can  be  profitably  arranged  for  by  the  Mis- 
sionary Secretary  with  appropriate  music,  missionary  selections, 
recent  items  from  the  field,  map  drill,  and  display  of  charts  and 
curios.  Or,  some  of  the  elementary  outlines  of  missionary  study 
now  available  may  be  taught  from  the  platform  or  taken  up  in 
the  classes. 

104.  Missionary  Concerts. — A  properly  arranged  missionary 
concert  is  interesting  and  instructive.  Usually  it  is  best  to 
confine  each  concert  to  a  given  missionary  field.  Display  a 
map  of  the  field.  Have  participants  dressed  to  represent  the 
natives.  Appropriate  music,  recitations,  facts  from  the  field, 
and  a  short  missionary  address  by  the  pastor  or  by  a  returned 
missionary  will  make  an  excellent  program.  Secure  from  your 
denominational  publishing  house  leaflets  giving  facts  about  the 
field  under  consideration,  and  distribute  them  to  the  audience. 
Once  a  quarter  is  none  too  often  for  a  missionary  concert. 

105.  Denominational  Boards. — Kvery  Sunday-school  should 
contribute  regularly  and  generously  to  its  own  denominational 
benevolences.  Contribute  to  one  benevolence  at  a  time,  and 
let  this  one  be  definitely  explained,  so  that  the  giving  may  be 
intelligent.  Every  school  ought  to  be  familiar  with  the  great 
missionary  movements  of  the  world,  and  especially  of  its  own 
denomination. 

106.  Specific  Objects. — More  interest  can  be  created  and 
more  money  raised  for  a  specific  than  for  a  general  object,  and 
done  more  quickly.  Denominational  boards,  recognizing  this, 
have  provided  to  meet  it  by  enabling  churches,  schools,  and 
individuals  to  contribute  to  a  specific  purpose,  under  the  general 


252  The  School 

direction  of  a  given  board.  Shares  to  the  extent  of  the  donor's 
contribution  are  assigned  in  a  particular  station,  the  donor  thus 
having  a  share  in  the  entire  work  of  the  station.  This  is  known 
as  the  "Station  Plan"  of  giving. 

107.  Reflex  Influence. — No  church,  school,  nor  Christian 
can  honor  the  Master  by  endeavoring  to  carry  out  his  last 
command  without  receiving  a  great  blessing.  The  power  and 
effectiveness  of  a  local  school  in  its  own  work  are  usually  in 
proportion  to  its  interest  in  the  world-wide  Kingdom.  If  it 
will  "make  a  little  cake"  for  others  first,  it  will  have  all  it  needs 
at  home.     This  rule  is  without  exception. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Repeat  the  quoted  sentence  at  the  beginning  of  paragraph 
96. 

2.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  missionary  secretary? 

3.  Of  the  missionary  committee? 

4.  What  missionary  equipment  is  desirable? 

5.  State  how  a  mission-study  class  may  be  conducted. 

6.  What  plan  may  well  be  used  for  a  Missionary  Sunday? 

7.  For  a  Missionary  concert? 

8.  What  is  usually  the  measure  of  the  power  of  the  local  school  ? 


Lesson  lo 
Organized  Adult  Classes 

108.  Organized  classes  have  existed  in  small  numbers  here 
and  there  for  many  years;  not  until  recently,  however,  has  the 
attention  of  the  Sunday-school  world  been  especially  attracted 
to  them.  When  once  their  value  became  recognized  the  idea 
spread  rapidly,  and  the  organized  adult  class  is  now  one  of  the 
most  prominent  features  of  Sunday-school  work  almost  every- 
where. 

109.  Organization. — Elaborate  organization  will  not  be 
needed,  except  in  very  large  classes.  It  is  best  to  organize 
men's  classes  and  women's  classes  separately.  Call  together 
by  announcement  and  invitation  those  who  are  interested  in 
forming  a  class,  for  conference.  Furnish  them  with  the  leaflets 
on  organized  classes  furnished  by  the  denomination  or  by  the 
International  Sunday  School  Association.  Explain  the  method 
and  purpose  of  class  organization.  Endeavor  to  secure  a 
definite  number  of  charter  members  to  begin  with.  Adopt  the 
suggested  International  constitution,  or  some  other  if  better 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  class ;  or  appoint  a  committee  to  draft 
the  sort  of  a  constitution  desired.  Secure  the  International 
Certificate  of  Recognition,  which  should  be  framed  and  hung 
upon  the  walls  of  the  class-room.  It  will  be  well  to  make  the 
organization  conform  to  the  standard  set  up  by  the  International 
Sunday   School    Association,    and    outlined    in    their    leaflets. 

110.  Purpose. — The  real  purpose  of  class  organization  is 
to  make  the  class  more  effective  in  those  things  for  which  a 
Sunday-school  class  exists.  Genuine,  faithful  Bible  study  for 
the  purpose  of  leading  men  and  women  to  Christ,  developing 
Christian  character,  training  for  service,  securing  their  member- 
ship in  the  church,  and  setting  them  to  work,  is  the  business  of 
the  class.  Everything  else  must  contribute  to  this.  With  this 
as  the  goal,  any  wisely  conducted  class  will  succeed;  but  if 
anything  else  overshadows  this,  true  success  is  impossible. 
Thoroughly  organized  classes  will  solve  the  problem  of  holding 

253 


254  The  School 

men  and  women  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  are  doing  it  con- 
tinually. 

111.  Officers  and  Their  Duties. — Elect  a  president,  vice- 
president,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  whose  duties  will  be  those 
usually  performed  by  such  officers.  The  president  will  preside, 
not  only  at  all  class  meetings,  but  at  the  regular  Sunday  session 
of  the  class  as  well.  The  most  important  officer  to  choose  is 
the  teacher.  Select  the  very  best  teacher  obtainable,  and  one, 
if  possible,  who  is  well  known  and  liked  by  the  class.  The 
teacher  and  president  should  be  ex-officio  members  of  all  com- 
mittees.    Other  officers  may  be  chosen  as  they  are  needed. 

112.  Committees. — Appoint  but  few  committees  to  start 
with,  and  others  as  the  need  arises. 

The  Executive  Committee  may  consist  of  the  general  officers 
of  the  class  and  the  chairmen  of  the  various  standing  com- 
mittees. 

The  Membership  Committee  will  seek  to  secure  new  members, 
look  up  the  absentees,  and  visit  the  sick.  As  the  class  grows 
in  size,  part  of  this  work  may  be  assigned  to  special  committees. 

The  Devotional  Committee  will  have  in  charge  the  devotional 
services  of  the  class  on  Sundays  and  at  other  meetings. 

The  Social  Committee  will  welcome  and  introduce  new  mem- 
bers and  visitors;  it  will  also  seek  to  cultivate  the  social  side  of 
the  class,  providing  such  gatherings  and  entertainments  as 
may  be  approved. 

The  growing  needs  of  the  class  will  suggest  special  committees 
from  time  to  time. 

113.  Name. — There  is  inspiration  in  a  good  name.  It  may 
be  the  name  of  some  prominent  person  in  the  denomination 
or  community,  but  it  is  better  not  to  use  the  name  of  any  one 
still  living.  Or  the  name  may  have  the  charm  of  secrecy — 
a  word  or  initials — with  a  significance  known  only  to  the  class. 
Whatever  name  is  adopted,  make  much  of  it.  Let  it  be  promi- 
nent on  all  the  class  printing.  Many  classes  adopt  "colors," 
and  decorate  their  class-room  with  them;  some  choose  a  class 
flower,  to  be  worn  on  special  occasions.  Class  stationery  and 
whatever  else  will  tend  to  cultivate  a  class  spirit  is  desirable. 

114.  Class    Meetings. — There   should   be  regular  meetings 


Lesson  lo  255 

of  the  class,  at  least  quarterly.  The  social  committee  will  usually 
arrange  for  these  meetings,  but  occasionally  another  committee 
should  be  in  charge,  as  the  literary  or  athletic  committee.  The 
great  occasion  of  the  year  will  be  the  annual  meeting,  when  a 
special  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  the  presence  of  all  mem- 
bers, past  and  present.  The  election  of  officers,  a  banquet,  a 
fine  program,  and  a  glad  reunion  will  be  its  customary  features. 

115.  Relation  to  the  School. — The  organized  class  should 
be  a  part  of  the  Sunday-school  with  which  it  is  connected.  It 
will  be  better  if  during  the  opening  or  closing  service  the  members 
of  the  class  can  sit  with  the  school.  Their  relation  to  the  school 
should  be  the  same  as  that  of  any  other  class.  Class  spirit  is 
good,  but  school  spirit  is  better.  They  should  use  the  regular 
Bible  lesson.  Nearly  all  classes  which  have  turned  aside  from 
the  Bible  lessons  have  gone  down.  They  should  contribute  to 
the  regular  school  fund,  and  comply  with  all  the  requirements 
of  the  school.  The  influence  of  large  organized  classes  upon  the 
boys  and  girls,  thus  emphasizing  loyalty  to  the  school,  is  very 
great. 

116.  Relation  to  the  Community. — Organized  classes  are 
now  combined  in  a  regular  department  of  the  organized  or 
International  Sunday-school  work.  Each  organized  class  should 
co-operate  with  others  in  extending  and  improving  organized 
class  work  and  methods.  Delegates  should  be  sent  from  the 
class  to  conventions  and  conferences,  and  make  report  to  the 
class  upon  their  return.  The  International  emblem,  a  small 
red  button  or  pin  with  a  white  center,  will  enable  members  of 
organized  classes  to  recognize  each  other  when  they  meet. 
Much  helpful  literature  for  organized  classes  is  now  in  print, 
in  the  form  of  periodicals,  lesson  helps,  and  books  for  teachers, 
officers,  and  scholars. 

117.  Benefits. — A  class  spirit  is  fostered.  The  class  becomes 
a  working  force  and  unit.  The  organized  class  has  something 
definite  to  do.  It  sets  every  member  to  work.  It  helps  to  hold 
the  big  boys  and  girls  in  the  school.  It  interests  men  and 
women  in  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  in  the  church.  It  furnishes 
workers  for  the  church  and  Sunday-school,  teachers  for  mission 
schools,  speakers  and  singers  for  evangelistic  meetings  upon  the 


2S6  The  School 

street  and  elsewhere.  It  gives  strength  and  dignity  to  the 
school.  It  adds  largely  to  the  school's  financial  resources. 
Organization  carries  many  a  class  over  the  dead  center  of  dis- 
couragement, or  the  weakening  influence  of  being  without  a 
teacher.  A  well-organized  class  will  grow,  for  a  time  at  least, 
whether  it  has  a  teacher  or  not. 

Test  Questions 

1.  Explain  a  method  for  organizing  an  adult  class. 

2.  What  is  the  purpose  of  such  organization? 

3.  What  officers  does  an  organized  class  need? 

4.  What  committees? 

5.  What  are  the  advantages  of  a  name  for  the  class? 

6.  What  is  the  right  relation  of  such  a  class  to  the  school  ? 

7.  To  the  community? 

8.  State  the  benefits  of  an  organized  class. 

Text  Questions  for  Review 
Lessons  6  to  10 

1.  What  should  be  the  most  important  feature  of  the  Sunday- 
«Jchool  session? 

2.  Who  should  be  in  a  teacher-training  class? 

3.  What  may  the  teacher  accomplish  between  Sundays? 

4.  What  is  a  Workers'  Meeting? 

5.  What  is  the  "Angle  Method"  of  study  at  that  meeting? 

6.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  financial  board? 

7.  How  may  a  mission-study  class  be  conducted? 

8.  What  is  usually  the  measure  of  a  school's  power? 

9.  How  may  an  Adult  Class  be  organized? 
10.  State  the  benefits  of  an  organized  class. 

NoTS. — This  enth-e  subject  is  fully  and  helpfully  discussed  by 
Mr.  Lawrance  in  his  book  "How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School." 


APPENDIX 
Teaching  Hints 

Two  years  of  time  preferably  should  be  allowed  for  the  com- 
pletion of  these  lessons.  The  International  Association  will 
grant  a  diploma  upon  the  completion  of  the  First  Standard 
Course,  provided  at  least  one  study  year  has  been  spent  in  pur- 
suing the  fifty  lessons. 

If  the  book  is  studied  by  a  normal  class,  meeting  at  the  time 
of  the  regular  lesson  period  on  Sunday,  only  a  half-hour  will 
usually  be  available;  and  in  this  case  at  least  one  hundred  half- 
hour  periods,  extending  over  two  teaching  years,  should  be  used 
for  the  fifty  lessons.  If  full  hour  periods  are  available,  the 
course  may  be  completed  within  one  year  of  fifty  lesson  periods. 

The  Book 

Although  the  numbered  lessons  begin  with  the  story  of  Adam 
on  page  14,  there  are  two  chapters  which  may  be  used  as  pre- 
liminary material,  if  the  leader  chooses.  One  of  these  is  "How 
the  Bible  Came  to  Us,"  by  Professor  Price,  on  page  123.  There 
are  fifteen  numbered  paragraphs  in  this  chapter;  if  there  are  at 
least  fifteen  members  in  the  class,  a  profitable  hour  could  be 
spent  by  assigning  a  paragraph  to  a  member,  several  days  ahead, 
with  the  understanding  that  each  one  was  to  read  the  entire 
chapter,  but  to  be  specially  prepared  in  his  assigned  paragraph. 
At  the  time  of  the  lesson  hour  pencil  and  paper  could  be  supplied 
to  each  member  of  the  class.  Then  beginning  with  paragraph 
I,  all  books  closed,  the  assigned  member  could  state  from  memory 
the  contents  of  the  paragraph,  while  all  the  others  silently  write 
down  wrong  statements  or  omissions — these  to  be  brought 
out  later. 

The  chapter  on  the  Bible,  page  11,  should  also  precede  the 
numbered  lessons.  The  chart  given  is  easily  remembered  and 
each  member  might  reproduce  this  chart  from  memory  and  tell 
something  of  each  of  the  several  periods  enumerated. 

The  Lessons  on  the  Book. — It  will  be  seen  that  each  lesson 
is  composed  of  several  parts:  (a)  The  historical  outline,  which 
is  placed  first;  (b)  the  geographical  work,  in  a  statement  of 
J'^     17  257 


258  Appendix 

places  and  an  outline  map;  (c)  a  paragraph  designated  "Sig- 
nificance of  Events  " ;  (d)  the  story  of  the  period  briefly  retold 
in  simple  language.     Note  the  following  suggestions: 

(a)  The  Historical  Outline. — These  outlines,  taken  altogether, 
constitute  a  complete  statement  of  the  essentials  of  Bible  history. 
They  are  the  framework  upon  which  may  be  built  as  elaborate  a 
Bible  story  as  one  may  wish.  The  outlines  may  well  be  used 
for  memory  work  and  in  question  drills  and  reviews. 

(b)  The  Geographical  Work. — In  most  of  the  chapters  the  maps 
are  so  simply  drawn  that  they  may  be  used  for  geography  drill, 
each  student  being  asked  to  draw  (without  tracing)  the  simple 
map  connected  with  the  lesson,  and  locate  the  places  mentioned. 

(c)  Significance  of  Events. — These  paragraphs,  taken  together, 
form  a  concise  story  of  the  progress  of  redemption  and  reve- 
lation, and  state  the  spiritual  teaching  of  each  period.  The 
essentials  of  these  statements  may  be  memorized,  but  students 
should  be  required  to  express  the  thought  in  their  own  language. 

(d)  The  Retold  Bible  Story. — Emphasis  upon  the  memorizing 
of  the  other  three  parts  of  the  lesson  should  not  prove  an  excuse 
for  passing  by  the  Bible  narrative  here  given.  Without  this 
the  other  work  may  prove  dry  and  uninteresting — a  task.  The 
student  who  reads  and  rereads  the  narrative  with  care  will  find 
his  memory  work  in  the  other  portions  invested  with  a  vitality 
that  will  otherwise  be  missing.  The  narrative  section  will 
furnish  abundant  material  for  brief  debates,  informal  discus- 
sions, assigned  papers  on  special  topics,  and  many  other  helpful 
methods.  Bible  study  of  historical  facts  in  rigid  outline  may 
be  made  as  dry  as  dust.  Bible  study  aglow  with  human  interest 
and  enthusiastically  pursued  by  diversified  methods  may  be 
made  the  most  interesting  study  that  can  be  undertaken. 

Using  the  Blackboard. — The  blackboard  may  be  used  with 
great  profit  as  an  aid  in  reviewing  a  lesson,  either  at  the  close 
of  a  teaching  period,  at  the  beginning  of  a  period  following  a 
lesson  assigned  for  home  study,  or  at  intervals  in  the  course  after 
covering  several  lessons.  No  special  blackboard  outlines  are 
offered  in  this  book;  it  is  urged  that  each  leader  shall  construct 
his  own  blackboard  review  from  the  historical  outlines  at  the 
beginning  of  each  lesson  on  the  Bible.     Such  a  blackboard  review 


Appendix  259 

should  be  accompanied  by  questions  and  answers.  Here  is  an 
illustration  of  the  blackboard  use  of  the  outlines  of  Lesson  i, 
The  Book,  page  14,  after  the  entire  lesson  has  been  carefully 
studied  and  with  all   books  closed. 

Leader. — What  are  the  great  divisions  of  the  Bible?    . 

Answer. — Old  Testament  and  New  Testament. 

(Here  may  follow  a  drill  on  the  Books  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  their  order.) 

Leader. — We  will  begin  with  the  study  of  The  Old  Testament 
Division  (write). 

Leader. — How  may  this  be  divided? 

Answer. — Into  a  prelude  and  five  periods. 

Leader. — What  does  the  prelude  tell  about?     (Write  Prelude.) 

Answer. — Story  of  creation  (write). 

Leader. — Where  do  we  read  about  it? 

Answer. — Genesis  i,  2  (write). 

Leader. — Where  do  all  things  have  their  origin? 

Answer. — In  God. 

Leader. — What  does  the  first  period  tell  about?  (Write  First 
Period^ 

Answer. — The  creation  of  Adam  (write). 

Leader. — What  "beginnings"  do  we  see  in  this  period? 

Answer. — The  beginning  of  the  human  race,  sin,  and  redemption 
(write). 

Leader. — Where  is  this  told  about? 

Answer. — Genesis  3  (write). 

Leader. — Who  is  the  leading  person  of  the  second  period? 
(Write  Second  Period.) 

Answer. — Noah  (write). 

Leader. — What  event  is  chronicled  in  connection  with  Noah? 

Answer. — The  -flood  (write). 

Leader. — What  great  structure  was  built  in  this  period? 

Answer. — The  tower  of  Babel  (write). 

Leader. — What  punishment  came  to  the  people  for  building 
this  tower? 

Answer. — Confusion  of  tongues  (write) 

Leader. — Where  do  we  read  about  this  period? 

Answer. — Genesis  (h-ii  (write). 


26o  Appendix 

This  method  may  be  followed  in  the  case  of  each  of  the  Bible 
lessons.  The  blackboard  outline  for  the  entire  first  lesson  would 
appear  about  as  follows,  after  being  built  up  step  by  steg: 

The  Old  Testament  Division 

Prelude. — Story  of  Creation  (Genesis  i,  2) 
First  Period — Adam 

r  Human  race 
The  beginning  of  -<  Sin 

(^  Redemption 
Second  Period — Noah — the  flood 

Tower  of  Babel — confusion  of  tongues 
(Genesis  6-1 1) 
Third  Period — Abraham — chosen  family 

Egypt — prosperity — oppression 
Moses — Exodus 
Journeys 
Canaan 
Judges 

(Genesis  12  to  Judges  i  :  21) 
Fourth  Period — Saul — David — Solomon 

(i  Sam.  10  to  I  Kings  12) 
Fifth  Period — Captivity — return 
Ezra,  Nehemiah 
(2  Kings  25) 

Each  leader  will  thus  be  enabled  to  use  the  blackboard  in  his 
own  way,  basing  the  drill  on  the  outline  material  at  the  beginning 
of  each  chapter;  this  blackboard  review  will  be  brought  to  the 
students  with  a  freshness  not  secured  when  suggested  outlines 
are  printed  with  each  lesson. 

Familiarity  with  maps  should  be  encouraged  at  every  point. 
The  leader  may  accustom  the  class  to  the  question,  "Where  is 
that  place?"  nearly  every  time  a  town  or  locality  is  named. 
The  average  beginner  in  Bible  study  is  afraid  of  a  map;  the 
more  familiar  he  becomes  with  these  maps,  the  more  confidence 
he  will  have  in  his  own  Bible  knowledge. 


Appendix  261 

The  New  Testament  Section. — In  the  several  chapters  begin- 
ning on  page  71  the  historical  outline  consists  of  a  harmony 
of  the  Gospels.  It  is  not  intended  that  the  student  shall  memo- 
rize this  harmony;  but  the  ability  to  reproduce  from  memory 
the  journey  map  published  in  connection  with  each  section  of 
the  harmony  would  give  the  student  a  very  helpful  grasp  on  the 
order  of  events  in  the  life  of  Christ.  The  use  of  a  journey  map 
as  a  basis  for  telling  the  story  of  a  chosen  period  will  fix  events 
and  geographical  location  in  mind  at  the  same  time. 

The  Pupil 

The  lessons  on  The  PupU  enter  a  field  of  study  with  which 
the  average  teacher  is  perhaps  less  familiar  than  with  the  Bible 
section.  Hence  the  leader  will  do  well  to  begin  slowly  and  to 
allow  plenty  of  time  for  discussion  in  the  class.  Professional 
teachers  who  have  studied  the  science  of  psychology  may  be 
very  helpful  in  occasional  talks  to  the  class,  provided  you  are 
assured  in  advance  that  they  will  not  confuse  the  students  by 
the  use  of  technical  terms.  Such  talks  from  outsiders  should  be 
brief,  and  confined  to  one  phase  of  the  subject,  and  time  should 
be  allowed  for  questions  by  the  students  and  informal  discussion. 

Students  should  be  encouraged  to  find  their  own  illustrations 
for  certain  well-defined  statements.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
paragraph  Imitation  under  numbered  paragraph  6,  on  page  144. 
One  or  more  students  may  be  asked  to  bring  illustrations  of  this 
statement  from  their  own  home  or  Sunday-school  experience  in 
a  given  week.  One  will  tell  how  he  saw  a  neighbor's  boy  try  to 
keep  step  with  his  father  while  on  a  walk.  Another  will  describe 
the  actions  of  a  little  girl  she  saw  dressed  in  her  mother's  skirt — 
actions  plainly  imitative  of  the  mother  herself.  Illustrations 
like  these  observed  and  reported  by  the  students  themselves  will 
greatly  aid  in  the  study  of  the  section,  and  will  be  much  more 
valuable  than  illustrations  ordinarily  furnished  in  the  text.  The 
leader  is  urged,  however,  to  challenge  any  illustration  which 
misses  the  point  or  gives  a  wrong  impression. 

Bringing  the  Teaching  to  a  Focus. — In  some  cases  the  super- 
intendent of  the  department  which  includes  the  age  under  dis- 
cussion (as,  for  instance,  The  Beginners  Department),  whether 


262  Appendix 

a  member  of  the  class  or  not,  may  be  invited  to  tell  in  from  five 
to  ten  minutes  how  far  he  or  she  is  able  to  meet  the  opportunities, 
supply  the  needs,  overcome  the  difficulties,  and  realize  the  results 
so  clearly  stated  by  Mrs.  Lamoreaux  in  the  closing  paragraphs 
of  each  chapter.  This  would  give  the  whole  lesson  a  local  setting 
and  application. 

The  Teacher 

The  remarks  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  section  under  The 
Pupil,  just  preceding,  apply  equally  here.  Outside  help  is 
desirable,  but  simplicity  in  treatment  must  be  maintained. 
Profound  knowledge  of  a  subject  does  not  insure  ability  to  re- 
state that  knowledge  in  simple  terms.  Better  not  have  the  pro- 
found knowledge  displayed  if  it  is  going  to  leave  the  students  in 
confusion. 

The  principle  of  home-made  illustrations  referred  to  above 
applies  equally  well  to  the  section  on  The  Teacher. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  each  adult  student  in  the  class  will  remem- 
ber teachers  who  have  excelled  in  the  points  enumerated  by  Dr. 
Brumbaugh.  The  student  should  be  encouraged  to  take  a  state- 
ment like  that  found  in  paragraph  4,  page  182,  and  say  to  himself. 
"Which  of  my  teachers  was  notably  enthusiastic?  How  did 
this  enthusiasm  impress  me?  How  did  it  help  him  in  teaching 
great  truths?"  These  observations  may  frequently  need  to  be 
made  quietly  to  the  student's  self.  But  they  will  greatly  help 
him  to  master  the  laws  of  teaching. 

The  School 

Here  is  a  section  dealing  with  a  concrete  subject,  and  illus- 
trations will  be  within  the  range  of  vision  of  every  one  who  is 
associated  with  Sunday-school  work.  At  the  very  outset  there 
may  be  found  those  who  will  take  exception  to  many  of  the 
suggestions  made,  because  they  are  deemed  to  be  impracticable 
in  "our  school."  This  attitude  should  be  firmly  but  patiently 
overcome.  If  discussion  proves  that  the  thing  suggested  is 
undesirable,  or  that  a  better  method  may  prevail,  that  is  a  point 
worth  making.     But  the  argument  that  a  thing  is  desirable  but 


Appendix  263 

"impossible"  should  have  no  footing  in  a  teacher-training  class. 
Let  the  motto  be,  "If  it  ought  to  be,  it  can  be." 

The  teacher  may  be  inclined  to  skip  a  paragraph  like  that  on 
The  Secretary.  "Of  what  interest  is  that  to  me?"  she  may  ask. 
The  answer  is  simple:  No  one  is  equipped  to  be  a  teacher  who 
doesn't  know  the  school  as  a  whole;  and  no  one  knows  the  school 
as  a  whole  who  doesn't  know  it  in  its  several  essential  parts. 
Only  when  the  teacher  knows  the  secretary's  duties,  for  instance, 
is  that  teacher  prepared  to  see  how  careful  he  should  be  in  meeting 
his  obligations  to  the  secretary  in  the  line  of  the  latter' s  official 
work.  Each  teacher  should  be  encouraged  to  study  executive 
problems,  such  as  those  relating  to  the  superintendent  and  other 
officers,  as  if  they  were  his  own;  and  at  least  he  should  discover 
his  part  as  a  teacher  in  helping  the  executive  officers  to  make 
the  school  a  success. 

In  many  localities  sections  of  the  class  may  visit  other  schools 
and  report  back  to  the  class  upon  the  features  in  which  these 
schools  excel.  This  offers  a  practical  laboratory  method  for  the 
concrete  teaching  of  these  lessons.  Of  course,  such  visits  should 
be  made  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  school  visited;  and  at  such  times  and  in  such  manner 
that  the  work  of  the  school  will  not  be  disturbed.  Teachers 
of  regular  classes  will  greatly  profit  by  an  occasional  trip  to 
another  school;  it  is  time  gained  rather  than  lost. 


Teacher-training  superintendents  find  a  marked  tendency  in 
some  classes  to  discontinue  the  work  after  the  section  on  The 
Bible  has  been  covered.  It  is  a  false  notion  that  a  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  is  the  only  thing  necessary  for  Sunday-school 
teachers.  Leaders  should  enthusiastically  carry  their  classes 
past  this  common  "  dead-point "  over  into  the  sections  on  The 
Pupil,  The  Teacher,  and  The  School  ;  this  special  effort  to 
arouse  enthusiastic  interest  in  what  is  to  come  after  the  Bible 
course  will  often  prevent  students  from  dropping  out  of  the  class. 

In  all  the  work  "  make  haste  slowly."  It  is  more  important 
to  get  the  work  done  well  than  it  is  to  get  it  done  in  a  given 
time. 


264 


Appendix 


Paul's  Journey ings 

From  "A  Chart  of  Paul's  Journeyings,"  Arnold, 
Published  by  The  Sunday  School  Times  Co. 


Antioch  yi^  < 

1  «S^c*  Iconium 

=  t        "  ""VvvLystra 
Altalia 


ED  I  TER  R  A  N  EA  N      SEA 


Copyright,  1897,  by  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 

First  Journey 
Antioch.     Paul  and  Barnabas  commissioned  (Acts  13  :  1-3) 

1.  Seleucia.     Embarked  (Acts  13  :  4). 

2.  Salamis.     Preached  in  synagogues  (Acts  13  :  5). 

3.  Paphos.     The  sorcerer  (Acts  13  :  6-12). 

4.  Perga.     John  Mark  returned  (Acts  13  :  13). 

5.  Antioch  of  Pisidia.     Preaching  and  persecution  (Acts  13 : 

14-50). 

6.  Iconium.     Strife  (Acts  13  :  51  to  14  :  7). 

7.  Lystra.     Paul  stoned  (Acts  14  :  8-19). 

8.  Derbe.     Made  many  disciples  (Acts  14  :  20,  21). 

9.  Lystra.  '\ 

10.  Iconium.  [■  Confirmed  disciples  (Acts  14  :  21-24). 

11,  12.  Antioch.    J 

13.  Perga.     Spoke  the  Word  (Acts  14  :  25). 

14.  Attalia.     Embarked  (Acts  14    25). 

15.  16.  Antioch.     Reported  their  work  (Acts  14  :  26-28). 

17.  Jerusalem.     Council  (Acts  15  :  1-29) 

18.  Antioch.     Tarried,  preaching  (Acts  15  :  30-35)  • 


Appendix  265 

Paul's  Journeyings  (Continued) 


Copyright.  1897,  by  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 

Second  Journey 

Antioch.     Paul  and  Barnabas  disagree  (Acts  15  :  36-40). 

1.  Syria  and  Cilicia.     Confirming  churches  (Acts  15  .'41). 

2.  Derbe  and  Lystra.     Timothy  accompanies  (Acts  16  :  1-3). 

3.  4.  Iconium,  Antioch.     Delivering  decrees  (Acts  16  :  2,  4,  5). 

5.  Galatia,  Phrygia,  Mysia,  Troas  (Acts  16  :  6-8). 
Troas.     Macedonian  call  (Acts  16  :  8-10). 

6.  Samothrace,    Neapolis   (Acts   16  :  11). 

7.  Philippi.     Lydia;  the  jailer  (Acts  16  :  12-40). 
8,  9.  Amphipolis,  Apollonia  (Acts  17  :  i). 

10.  Thessalonica.     Church  planted  (Acts  17  :  1-9). 

11.  Beroea.     Preaching,  strife  (Acts  17  :  10-14). 

12.  Athens.     Address  on  Mars'  Hill  (Acts  17  :  15-34)- 

13.  Corinth.     Church  planted,  Aquila  and   Priscilla  (Acts  18  : 

i~i7). 

14.  Ephesus.     Left  Priscilla  and  Aquila  (Acts  18  :  18-21). 

15.  Csesarea.     Landed  (Acts  18  :  22). 

16.  Jerusalem.     Saluted  the  church  (Acts  18  :  22). 

17.  Antioch.     Spent  some  time  (Acts  18  :  22,  23). 


266 


Appendix 


Paul's  Journeyings  (Continued) 


Copyright,  1897,  BY  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 

Third  Journey 
Antioch.     Departed  from  (Acts  i8  :  23), 
1-5.  Galatia,    Phrygia,    Ephesus.      Stablishing    disciples  (Acts 
18  :  23), 
Ephesus.     Apollos,   Tyrannus,    Demetrius   (Acts    18  :  24 
to  19  :  41). 
6.  Troas  (2  Cor.  2  :  12,  13). 
7-13.  Macedonia,  Greece.     Gave  exhortation  (Acts  20  :  i,  2). 

Greece.     Spent   three  months   (Acts   20  :  3). 
14-18.     Philippi.     Set  sail  (Acts  20:4-6). 
19.  Troas.     Eutychus  restored  (Acts  20  :  6-12). 
Assos.     Took  in  Paul  (Acts  20  :  13,  14). 
Mitylene,  Chios,  Samos,  Miletus  (Acts  20  :  14,  15). 
Miletus.     Visit  of  Ephesian  elders  (Acts  20  :  15-38). 
23.  Cos,  Rhodes,  Patara,  Cyprus,  Tyre  (Acts  21  :  1-3). 
Tyre.     Tarried  seven  days  (Acts  21  :  3-6) 
Ptolemais.     Abode  one  day  (Acts  21  :  7). 
Caesarea.     Virgin  prophets,  Agabus  (Acts  21 


20. 
21. 


24. 


26. 


Jerusalem. 
15-26). 


8-14). 
Report  of  Paul's  Gentile  ministry  (Acts  21 


Appendix 


267 


Paul's  Journeyings  (Concluded) 


BLACK      SEA 


Copyright,  1897,  BY  John  D.  Wattles  &  Co. 
Voyage  to  Rome 


Paul's  arrest   (Acts   21  :  27-36). 

Address  in  the  Hebrew  language   (Acts  21  : 

29). 

Address  before  the  sanhedrin  (Acts  22  :  30  to 


Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem. 
37  to  22 
Jerusalem. 
23  :  II). 
Jerusalem.     Plot  of  the  Jews  (Acts  23  :  12-32). 
Caesarea.     Examination  before  Felix  (Acts  23  :  33-24  :  23). 
Caesarea.     Before  Felix  and  Drusilla  (Acts  24  :  24-27). 
Caesarea.     Before  Festus,  appeal  to  Caesar  (Acts  25  :  1-12). 
Caesarea.     Before  Agrippa  and  Bernice  (Acts  25  :  13-26  :  32). 
Sidon,  Cyprus,  Myra,  Cnidus,  Crete  (Acts  27  :  1-13). 
Sea  of  Adria,  Melita.     Shipwreck  (Acts  27  :  14-44). 
Melita.     Rescue,  miracles  by  Paul  (Acts  28  :  i-ii). 
7.  Syracuse.     Tarried  three  days  (Acts  28  :  12). 
8,  9.  Rhegium,  Puteoli.     Found  brethren  (Acts  28  :  13,   14). 
10,  II.  Appii  Forum,  Three  Taverns.     Met  by  brethren  from 
Rome  (Acts  28  :  15). 
12.  Rome.     Conference  with   Jews   (Acts   28  :  16-29). 

Rome.     Preaching  in  own  hired  house  (Acts  28  :  30,  31). 


2-5 
6 


268 


Appendix 


Additional  Maps 


THE  EXODUS  AND  WANDERINGS 


Appendix 


269 


ARMENIA 
Mt.  Ararat  ^^ 


ASSYRIA  AND  CANAAN 


THE  TWELVE  TRIBES 


270 


Appendix 


..^jC. 


THE   NORTHERN    AND   SOUTHERN    KINGDOMS 


Date  Due 

^?|Hti 

.■-■■■ 

J-  .. 

■" 

>> 

-       V  .J 

(mm^fi^ 

mm9^MM^^ 

M. 

■•^■■i** 

f) 

